No Strings Attached
by Nixxx852
Summary: Sirius and Remus hooked up with one condition: no strings attached. They weren't a couple, just two friends enjoying each others company. But, what happens when Remus finds himself getting very attached?
1. Chapter 1

Hey, everyone! This is a new story I cooked up after Loving My Best Friend ended. Hope you like it :)

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Chapter One

"I'll see you later," Sirius said breathlessly, pulling away from Remus's lips.

Remus sat up and ran a hand through his tousled hair. "Where are you going?"

"I'm supposed to meet up with Kayla Connors before astronomy," Sirius closed his bag after he made sure that everything was in there. "See you later, Moony."

"Bye, Padfoot." Remus waved as his friend left the room. He straightened his uniform and put a hand to his lips. They were bruised from his snogging session with Sirius.

He lay back down in bed and tried to remember who Kayla Connors was. She was a pretty Ravenclaw from his Ancient Runes class. And, now that he thought about it, she was always making eyes at Sirius in class. She was quite pretty and it wasn't a surprise that Sirius would fancy her. Remus frowned and tried to push back the jealousy he was feeling from thinking about Kayla and Sirius. He had no right to be jealous. Sirius could date whoever he wanted. That was, after all, part of their agreement.

Flashback

Remus sat in front of the fire, reading a book. The common room was mostly empty because it was already midnight. The only people left were mostly older students who were hurrying to get their homework out of the way. Remus shifted slightly in his seat and continued reading his book.

An hour passed and by now, everyone but Remus was out of the room, though he didn't mind. With friends like James and Sirius, it wasn't every day that he got a chance to enjoy a book. The sound of the portrait opening caught Remus's attention. He looked over to see who would be coming in at one in the morning. It was Sirius. And he didn't look too happy.

"Bad date?" Remus asked, turning his attention back to the book. Sirius groaned in response and plopped down next to Remus.

"Girls are so damn complicated sometimes!" Sirius whined after a while. Remus made a noise that showed he heard Sirius. Sirius took that as his cue to continue. "I was with that Hufflepuff, Amanda, and it was great. We were snogging up in a room on the sixth floor and everything was just fine. Then, right when I was about to get into her shirt, she pulls away and says we should take our relationship to the next stage."

Sirius made a face when he said 'next level'. Remus marked his place in his book, set it aside, and turned to Sirius. "Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"I thought so," Sirius leaned back in his seat. "But apparently, next level meant she wanted me to meet her parents and that kind of junk."

Remus winced, knowing how Sirius wasn't the 'meeting the parents' type of guy. "So what did you do?"

"I broke up with her, of course," Sirius said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Then she started freaking out and crying."

Remus looked at Sirius carefully and realized that his left cheek was slightly red, compared to the rest of this pale skin. "And she slapped you?"

"Shut up!" Remus tried to hide his laughing by clearing his throat. Sirius glared at his friend.

"But really, why are girls so into this commitment crap? Why can't they just enjoy snogging and fooling around with no strings attached?"

"Because girls aren't just satisfied with fooling around like guys are?"

"Hmm, do you like fooling around?" Sirius asked, his anger and frustration disappearing.

"Where did that question come from?" Remus asked, purposely avoiding the question.

"You just don't seem like the type."

"I'm a sixteen year old teenage boy, Sirius. I have hormones, too."

"Interesting," Sirius said more to himself than anything else.

Remus raised an eyebrow at his friend but said nothing. He picked up his book and continued reading, leaving Sirius to his silent musings.

"Why don't we hook up?" Sirius said after a long moment of silence.

"What?" Remus dropped his book in shock. That was not close to anything he was expecting Sirius to say.

"Not hook up, hook up," Sirius explained. "Just, you know, to mates fooling around and having some fun."

"You mean friends with benefits?"

"Yeah,"

Remus paused and thought about it for a while. He had no problem fooling around with other guys. Last year, he and Sirius came to the realization that they were both bisexual.

"Sure," Remus finally said, after giving it some thought.

"Good. So no strings attached?" Sirius moved closer to Remus until they were only inches apart.

"No strings attached," Remus replied, closing the distance between them and pressing his lips against Sirius's.

End Flashback

That had been almost three months ago. He and Sirius fooled around almost all the time. Sirius would still mess around with other girls, but that was part of their deal. There were no strings attached. Either one of them could mess around with whoever they wanted and the other had no right to be upset because it was what they agreed on.

Last month, however, Remus noticed a change in the way he felt around Sirius. He looked forward to snogging him so much more and found the idea of Sirius with other girls upsetting him. Remus realized he was slowly getting attached to Sirius.

Sirius was attractive; he'd be blind not to admit that. And he was an amazing kisser. But it was the little things that got to him. Like how they would sit, cuddled up together and Sirius would hold him close before kissing him softly. Or how Sirius offered to help carry his stuff when he had a little too much books. Or how Sirius would go behind him and give him a small massage when he was feeling a little tense. Sure, Sirius had offered him massages and carried his books before, but it was different now. Before it was just being a friend and helping him out, but now it just felt different.

Remus couldn't explain why he started feeling that way about Sirius; he couldn't even say when it happened. All he knew was that he felt different about Sirius. He found himself wondering what it would be like to be with Sirius as more than just friends with benefits. He wondered what it would be like to be able to wrap his arm around Sirius and snog him in front of everyone else. But, he knew he couldn't keep feeling this way. He and Sirius had an agreement: they'd fool around together all they wanted, but there's no strings attached.

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Well, that's the pilot chapter for this new story. Later chapters would be much longer. But that depends on you guys. What do you think? Should I continue?  
Feedback is greatly appreciated. And it lets me know that I'm not wasting my time writing a story no one cares for.  
Also, feel free to leave suggestions. They help me get a feel for what you guys like and don't like about the story and help me write it so you'll all enjoy it.

Don't forget to drop me a line or two :)  
Lots of love,  
Nixxx


	2. Chapter 2

I don't think I have to point this out, but just in case:  
This is a SLASH story. So don't read it if you don't like that kind of thing. Also, I own nothing but the plot. Characters belong to the awesome J.K. Rowling.

Also, this might be slightly AU. Or, not really. It's just that I changed a few things around. :)

Thanks so much to those who reviewed; you guys rock! And just like you asked, here's the second installment :)

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Chapter Two

"How did your meeting with Kayla go?" Remus asked when Sirius walked into the room. Sirius dumped his things on the foot of his bed and laid down on it.

"Alright," Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "She likes to bite though.

"So you going to see her again?" James asked conversationally, looking up from the Potions essay he was writing.

"Don't know," Sirius shrugged. "She wanted to meet before astronomy again tomorrow. But Megan from fifth year wanted to meet up after dinner."

"I don't think that'll be a good idea, Padfoot." Peter commented.

"Why not?"

"You have a love bite on your neck," James answered.

"What?" Sirius got off of the bed and went to the mirror. There was a fairly large purple-ish mark on his neck. "Ah, crap. I really gotta find a spell that will get rid of these things."

Remus watched Sirius from over the top of his book and tried to keep his anger at bay. Sirius had never let him bite him in case he left a mark. They didn't exactly tell anyone about their arrangement.

"Remus!" Remus jumped a little when Peter shouted his name. James and Sirius looked at him curiously.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked. "I've been calling your name for a while now."

"Yeah," Remus grinned apologetically. "Sorry, Peter, I just spaced out for a bit. What were you saying?"

"Which spells were we supposed to compare in our charms essay?"

Sirius watched Remus while he went over to Peter's bed to explain the homework to him. Peter's bed was right next to the window. The drapes weren't shut so Sirius could see the moon shining through the window. Remus sat on the window sill while he helped Peter work.

The moonlight shone on Remus's pale skin, making it look like it was glowing lightly. He looked good under the moonlight, Sirius mused. He looked a lot better than Kayla did, Sirius decided as he thought back to his earlier meeting with her. Kayla had skin tanner than Remus did so it didn't look as good under the silver light.

Sirius shook his head, wondering why he was thinking of that. Lately, he had been comparing all the new girls he was seeing to Remus. There were even a few occasions where he compared them to Remus while he was still with them. He didn't think too much of it though. It was probably just because he was snogging Remus, too. After all, he had compared a few of the girls he was with to each other before; Remus was no different.

xXx

Remus glanced up from his work to see an angry Lily falling angrily into the chair across from him.

"James again?" Remus asked with a hint of humor in his voice.

"He's so annoying!"

"He isn't that bad."

"Isn't that bad?" the person sitting next to Remus spoke up. "Are you forgetting about how they turned my hair green in potions yesterday?"

"I really am sorry they did that, Severus." Remus apologized.

"Don't be," Severus replied. "You weren't the one who made my hair green so you have nothing to apologize for."

Remus turned away to hide his smile. In truth, he had been the one to teach James and Sirius the incantation. But, in his defense, Remus didn't know what they were going to do with it.

"I still don't get why you hang around with Potter and Black," Lily continued. "They're so horrible!"

"And you're nothing like them," Severus added.

"I don't think they're so bad," Remus replied, feeling the need to defend his friends. "I know they like to mess around a lot, but they're great once you get to know them."

"I know enough to know that I don't want to get to know them," Lily muttered, opening her text book and starting on her homework.

Remus chuckled and went back to his work as well. He liked his meetings with Severus and Lily. They would meet in the library a few times a week to study and do homework together. It was a nice change from the Marauders. The Marauders were fun to be around, but schoolwork was the last thing on their minds.

"Moony!" An all too familiar voice shouted about an hour into their little study session. Remus and his two companions looked up from their work, each wearing a different expression. Remus looked amused, Severus looked angry, and Lily looked annoyed.

"Mr. Black! You are not to shout in the library!" the shrill voice of the school librarian shouted.

"Be right back," Remus shook his head in amusement and went to the front of the library before Sirius disrupted the people anymore.

"There you are!" Sirius exclaimed once he caught sight of Remus, ignoring the angry librarian.

"What are you doing here Padfoot?" Remus smiled at the librarian apologetically and steered Sirius closer to the door.

"I figured you'd be here." Sirius shrugged. Remus raised an eyebrow in question and Sirius elaborated. "James has detention and Peter has to do some tutoring session with Slughorn because he failed the last test thing. And I'm bored! Let's go do something."

"I'm in the middle of a study group thing, Sirius."

"But I'm bored. Please?" Sirius practically whined. He moved closer to Remus and looked at him almost suggestively. "We can go do something fun."

Remus suppressed a shiver. Sirius was looking at him expectantly so he nodded. He never could say no to Sirius when he wanted to snog.

"I'll just go get my stuff." Remus hurried back to his table in the back of the room while Sirius opted to wait for him by the door.

"Where are you going?" Severus asked when Remus came back and started dumping all of his things into his backpack.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow?" Remus scanned the table to make sure he didn't forget anything.

"You know, you always drop whatever you're doing whenever it comes to Sirius," Lily commented. Remus opened his mouth to retort but Lily interrupted him. "I know he's like your best friend or something, but even friends don't spend as much time together as you two do."

"Don't tell me you've fallen prey to his 'astonishing good looks' and 'witty charm'," Severus commented sarcastically. Remus smiled as Severus quoted some fourth year girls they over heard earlier. And, though he knew that Severus was just joking, he couldn't help but blush.

He bent his head down and so Severus wouldn't see. A gasp from Lily, however, told him that she did.

"You do like him, don't you?" Lily's eyes were wide in amazement. Remus blushed harder, answering the red heads question for him. "Oh my god!"

Remus looked up at his friends, his face still red. Lily still looked amazed, but Severus was glaring.

"I er, have to go, alright?" Remus took a few steps back before they tried to stop him. "I'll meet you guys here an hour before the prefects meeting, okay? Bye!"

Remus turned on his heel and walked away from his friends. He made it to the front of the library and saw Sirius leaning against the wall next to the door. The librarian was still glancing at him angrily every now and then.

"What took you so long?" Sirius pushed himself off of the wall and opened the door for Remus. He let the door swing closed behind him and took Remus' books from his hands.

"I had to say goodbye. So how long do we have?"

"Well, James has got detention until dinner. And Peter's got like an hour left with Slughorn. And it's going to take ten minutes at the most to get to the tower."

Remus nodded and glanced down at their hands. Their fingers would bump against each other occasionally because they were walking pretty close to each other. And Remus found himself wanting to lace their fingers together.

Remus shook his head. Holding hands was a couple thing; he and Sirius weren't a couple. They were just two friends who happened to snog every now and then.

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Well, that's it for chapter two. Partially because I don't know what else to write for this xD I do have the main points/events figured out. I just have to put them together. Hehe. I wanted to get this out sooner but then I got a little tied up with my sister's middle school graduation and whatnot.

So...good? Bad? Keep going? Stop?  
Every little bit of feedback helps me grow as a writer :)

Also, this isn't my first story, but I am still pretty new to fanfiction. I've been reading stories on here since forever but it's only now that I started writing. Anyway, will someone help me out with this beta thing? I have an idea of what's going on with them but I'm not too sure. So pm me some info if you know pretty please :) and if you're beta who wants to help me out, that would be great, too :D

Don't forget to drop me a line or two :)  
lots of love,  
Nixxxrky


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to my super awesome amazing fantastic reviewers :) I love you guys! You guys are my inspiration.

I own nothing but this plot.  
This is slash so no like no read. Deal?  
Also, I may change some of the facts around to fit the story so let's call this a slight AU, alright?

Chapter Three

Remus sat on his desk, his fists clenched on his lap. Two desks behind from him, Sirius was flirting with some Ravenclaw. He knew Sirius flirted with a bunch if girls, but it was different actually seeing it.

"You should calm down," Lily whispered. Remus turned to her.

"You look ready to take Stacy's head off," Lily explained. "So exactly how long have you been interested in Sirius?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." Remus muttered.

"If I found myself attracted to that imbecile I'd probably too ashamed to talk about it, too," Severus mumbled from the other side of Lily.

"Severus!" Lily and Remus said at the same time.

"I know he's horrible to you," Remus continued softly. "But he really isn't that bad when you get to know him. You guys just got off on the wrong foot."

"It's been six years Remus. I doubt Black will change his ways."

"I kind of agree with him there," Lily said, giving Remus an apologetic smile. "They've been so horrible to him since we started school."

Whatever Remus was about to say was interrupted by the arrival of the professor. Remus took one last look at where Sirius left the girl alone and was flipping through the text book before beginning to take notes.

xXx

After classes were over, Remus went to the library for his regular study session with Lily and Severus. While they set out to work on their assignments, Lily would occasionally bring up questions about Sirius. Remus would either respond with as little information as possible or ignore her questions all together while Severus just scoffed.

"Lily?" a soft voice interrupted the three friends. They all looked up to see a rather short blonde with glasses. Remus had seen her around before but didn't know who she was. Lily, however, seemed to know her. She excused herself and pulled the girl aside to talk with her.

After a while Lily came back to their table but the girl still stood where she was, as if waiting for Lily. "Guys, I have to go take care of something, okay? I'll see you guys on Saturday."

"So, is Black going to come and take you away again?" Severus asked once the two boys said their goodbyes.

"Why do you hate him so much?" Remus asked as he watched Lily walk away.

"He's been making my life miserable for almost every day for the past six years," Severus answered bitterly. "Isn't that reason enough?"

"I know, but you seem even more hostile than usual," Remus looked at him thoughtfully. "Actually, I think it started when you found out that I liked him."

Severus remained quiet. For a while, the only sounds that could be heard were the scratching of his quill on his parchment. Remus watched him for a while before breaking the silence.

"What's so wrong about my liking Sirius? Other than the fact that you two don't exactly get along."

Severus glanced up briefly at Remus before dipping his quill into his inkwell and continuing his work. He remained silent.

"Why won't you tell me?" Remus pressed on.

"There's nothing to yell," Severus replied dismissively.

"Yes there is. Please tell me? We're friends, aren't we?"

Severus sighed in defeat. "I just don't think that you should like him."

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

"You can't not have a reason."

"I just don't think that he's the type of guy that you should be attracted to."

"What kind of guys should I be attracted to, then?"

"Someone who doesn't have a different girl every other day for starters."

Remus frowned at the statement but he couldn't help but agree. He really did hate the fact that Sirius moved through girls so quickly.

"And you need someone who is loyal." Severus continued. "I know loyalty is supposed to be a Gryffindor trait, but it seems to have eluded Black. Not only does he change girls every other day, there are times when he's seeing more than one at the same time."

Not to mention he's snogging me on the side, Remus thought guiltily. Though he wasn't into the idea of an overly romantic boyfriend who spends every waking moment with him, he did want a loyal and committed one.

"Don't you see, Remus?" Severus's tone was softer. "He may be one of your best friends and is 'not so bad' but he is horrible in a relationship. I don't think he's even capable of having a real relationship with anyone."

xXx

His conversation with Severus was all Remus could think about as r made his way up to Gryffindor tower. Severus had mentioned all the things Remus knew, but hated to think about. He knew how Sirius was, but he still liked to think about a possible relationship with him. He held the silly notion that perhaps he could be the one to change Sirius's ways, even if he knew it was impossible.

Remus spotted Sirius almost as soon as he entered the common room. Sirius was sitting near the window talking to a few of the younger students about their latest pranks. Sirius spotted Remus and quickly excused himself, leaving the small crowd and following his friends up the stairs.

"Does James still have detention?" Remus asked once they reached the door to their dorm room.

"Today's his last day." Sirius took Remus's things and put it down by the werewolf's bed before pulling him over to his bed.

Sirius sat on the bed and gave Remus a small smile before pulling the other boy down with him. Remus smiled shyly when he noticed Sirius's eyes constantly glancing at his lips. He knew where this was going but was still having a hard time getting Severus's words out of his head.

He forced those thoughts away, however, when Sirius leaned forward and captured his lips. He lost himself to the feeling of the other boy's lips on his. He made a soft appreciative sound as a tongue slipped past his parted lips. He immediately pushed his tongue against the other, starting a slight battle of dominance. Remus eventually let Sirius win and enjoyed the feeling of the other boy's tongue exploring his mouth.

All too soon, the two boys had to part for air. They didn't move too far away from each other and were only a few centimeters apart. Remus could feel Sirius's hot breath against his slightly parted lips as they both tried to slow their ragged breathing.

Remus had calmed his frantically beating heart when he caught whiff of a scent he hadn't noticed earlier. It was an almost fruity smell. And it was coming from Sirius.

Remus realized that Sirius had probably been with some other girl not too long before he started making out with serious. And, just like that, Remus wasn't in the mood anymore. Sirius had moved closer and was putting light kisses all over his neck and jaw, but he couldn't bring himself to get into it.

His earlier conversation with his Slytherin friend returned and was now all he could think about. He could hardly feel Sirius's arms holding him tightly and his lips sucking lightly on his neck.

"He isn't capable of being in a real relationship," the voice of Severus Snape echoed in his head.

*+*+*

Well, here's where I end this chapter. What do you think? How was it?  
If you have any ideas or things you want to see from this story, feel free to tell me and I'll try to incorporate it into my story :) this story is pretty much for you guys anyway. And I don't continue unless you guys want me to :D  
Oh, one last thing, are the lengths of my chapters alright? Should I make them shorter? Longer?

Don't forget to drop me a line or two :)  
Lots of love,  
Nixxxrky 


	4. Chapter 4

Warning: Slash. No like no read, deal?

I'd just like to say a quick thank you to all you wonderful reviewers :)

Chapter Four

"Something's bothering you," It was more of a statement than a question. Remus looked up from the blank piece of parchment he had been staring at and gave Severus a wry smile.

"I just had a hard time sleeping last night."

"I wonder why." Severus moved to sit in the empty seat next to Remus. Class didn't begin for another twenty minutes so the only people in there were the two of them, and another girl reading a book quietly in the back.

"Just a rough night, I guess." Remus ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Does that rough night have anything to do with the mark on your neck?" there was something almost venomous about the Slytherin's tone.

"Oh, crap." Remus cursed softly and readjusted his scarf. It wasn't cold out, but Sirius had marked his neck last night so he needed the scarf to cover it up. "I really need to find a spell to get rid of these things."

"Get rid of what?" Lily walked up to where they were sitting with her friend, and fellow Gryffindor, Alice.

"Nothing," Remus mumbled, making sure his scarf was secure and wouldn't move out of place during class.

"Someone has a love bite." Alice said with a knowing smile.

"What? How did you know?" Remus blurted out before he really had a chance to think about it.

"It isn't cold enough for scarves yet. No one would wear a scarf unless they're trying to hide something on their neck." Alice replied. "Believe me, I know. And I've seen enough people do it countless times. So who's the lucky girl?"

Remus blushed at the sly grin Alice gave him. Lily gave Remus a knowing smile, realizing who had given him the mark.

"It's no one."

"Aww, come on, Rem!" Alice took the nearest chair and put it in front of Remus's desk. "It's got to be something serious if you're getting hickeys. So who's your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend," Remus answered honestly.

"Then why the hickey?" Alice tilted her head to the side curiously. Lily looked just as curious while Severus looked annoyed.

"It's complicated."

"Moony!" A loud voice caused the four of them to look at the door. Sirius, James, and Peter were making their way over to them. Sirius got there first and gave Severus a mean look. "What are you doing here Snivellus?"

"Sirius!" Remus gave Sirius an angry glare and quickly apologized to the glaring Slytherin.

"I'll talk to you later." Severus promptly stood up and went to his regular seat at the other side of the room. Alice and Lily gave Sirius a look before moving to their seats in front of the werewolf.

"Why do you bother talking to that creep?" Sirius asked, taking a seat on the desk Severus had abandoned.

"He's a good guy, Siri." Remus said in a tired voice—they've had this talk one too many times. It was getting old.

"Why are you wearing a scarf Remus?" Peter asked as he took a seat on the other side of Remus while James moved to sit next to Sirius.

"Err," Remus hurried to think up a quick lie while Sirius gave him an apologetic look. "I think I'm starting to catch a cold, so I decided to wear the scarf."

Peter and James seemed to believe him, while Alice, who had overheard his lie, scoffed from her seat in front of him.

"Oh, by the way," Alice turned around and looked at Remus. "I know something that will help you get rid of it."

"You do?" Remus asked in a relieved voice while the other three boys looked at him curiously.

"I told you: I've seen enough people trying to get rid of it. This girl in Ravenclaw finally figured it out a couple years ago. I'll show you after class."

"Thanks, Alice." Alice smiled at him before turning around and talking to Lily.

"Get rid of what?" Sirius asked. Remus gave him a look, glaring slightly, and the other boy seemed to understand what he meant.

"It's nothing," Remus said after he realized James and Peter were still looking at him, waiting for an answer.

xXx

"Why do you hang out with Snivellus so much?" Sirius asked Remus during their free period. By then, Remus had gotten rid of the scarf.

"I really wish you'd stop calling him that." Remus replied. He didn't bother to answer the question. He and Sirius had talked about this way too many times already. He knew his friends and Severus didn't get along, but he was getting tired of all the fighting.

"But he's such a creep. And he's a Slytherin! You know you can't trust those guys."

"You're brother is a Slytherin." Remus pointed out, knowing that Regulus was one of the only people in his family that Sirius actually liked.

"I know, and he's been acting like a total prick lately. Being in Slytherin has changed him. And that just proves that all Slytherins are good for nothing creeps."

"Sirius, can we please just drop this? We've had this conversation so many times." Remus said in a tired voice.

"Fine." Sirius looked around the room. There were a few other students in the room but they were far away. James and Peter had gone down to the kitchens to get a snack and probably wouldn't be back for another few minutes. Leaning forward, he planted a quick kiss on Remus's lips.

Remus moved back, not expecting Sirius to steal a kiss with other people in the room. He looked around to make sure that no one had seen.

"What was that for?" Remus asked.

"I just felt like it," Sirius replied, grinning at him broadly. Remus gave him a small smile back.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked, giving him a concerned look. "You seem off. Every since last night actually."

"I'm fine, Siri," Remus gave him what he thought was a reassuring smile. "I think I really am catching that cold."

Sirius laughed softly and leaned back on the couch, as their two other friends came in with hands full of pastries from the kitches.

xXx

"I see the scarf is gone." Remus looked up and saw Severus next to him. He silently wondered how Severus could get around without being heard most of the time. Remus was sitting by the lake, just thinking.

"Alice told me the spell to get rid of it." Remus replied. He moved a little so Severus could sit beside him at the base of the tree.

"That's good, I suppose." The two sat in silence for a while, content with just staring out into the lake. Occasionally, a tentacle would shoot up from the lake, breaking the calm waters.

"So what's really bothering you?" Severus asked after a while.

"It's nothing, Sev."

"You know you can't lie to me, Remus. You're far too easy to read."

"Okay," Remus sighed after a few minutes of contemplative silence. "I've been thinking about that talk with had."

Remus caught sight of a small smirk on the other boy's lips.

"So you've finally seen reason?"

"I still like him," Remus said defensively. "I can't just stop liking him just like that. But, you're right. Nothing will come out of this arrangement with Sirius."

"So you're content just being friends with benefits?"

"No, of course not," Remus replied almost bitterly. He fished around for the right words to say. "I _like_ being with him, I really do. But I feel like I'm just making myself get more attached to him. And to think that before we started this, Sirius and I agreed that there were no strings attached."

"You didn't know you'd find yourself getting attracted to Black," Severus refrained from insulting Sirius when he saw the pained expression in Remus's face.

"I can't keep doing this, Sev."

"Then don't."

"But I—I think I love him." Remus was staring at his lap and missed the raged look that flashed in Severus's eyes for a moment.

"He doesn't deserve you're love."

"Perhaps he doesn't. But what else am I going to do?"

"Get over him."

"How?" Remus looked up and stared right into Severus's eyes, hoping his friend would have the answers.

"Find someone else."

"How?" Remus leaned back into the tree trunk with a small frown. "No one would waste their time with me."

"That's not true."

"Don't you remember first year? No one bothered to give me a second glance the first few months. It was only by chance that you, Lily, and I ended up sitting together in the library."

"You're a wonderful person, Remus." Severus put two fingers under Remus's chin and forced the other guy to look at him. "Anyone would be lucky to just be friends with you. You're a smart and thoughtful person and you care for everyone; even if they don't deserve it. You deserve someone who will love you unconditionally and care for you and stand by your side no matter what.

"I know you think you may be in 'love' with Black, but he's not the right guy for you. He can't return you're love because he's an immature twit who doesn't know what it's like to be in a real relationship. You don't deserve that Remus. You deserve only the best."

Remus looked at Severus with tears shining in his eyes. No one had ever said anything like that to him. He had spent his entire life feeling hated by everyone because of his condition. He never once thought that someone would see him as something other than a monster.

"Thank you, Severus," Remus leaned forward and hugged his friend, tears spilling from his eyes. Severus was taken aback by the sudden hug, not used to these types of thing. But he slowly brought his hands up and put them around the smaller boy. He felt the tears slowly dampening his shirt at the shoulder, but he didn't care. If anything, he felt a small smile grace his lips, knowing that he brought on those tears of joy.

The two stayed in the soft embrace for a while longer. Once Remus pulled away and composed himself, Severus mustered all the courage he had and decided to ask the question he wanted to ask for the longest time now.

"Remus, will you go out with me?"

"What?" Remus's eyes widened, having not expected those words from his friend.

"I know you think you love Black," Severus hurried and explained. "But all I ask from you is a chance; a chance to prove to you that there are people out there for suited for you than _Sirius Black_."

"Severus, I don't want to lead you on or anything," Remus said softly, unsure of what to say or think.

"All I ask from you is one date Remus. After the date, if I really stand no chance, then I'll accept it and won't bother you anymore."

Remus thought about it for a while. He and Severus had been friends almost as long as he had been with the Marauders, and he really did like his company.

"Fine," He smiled softly at his friend. "One date—as long as you promise not to get your hopes up. I value our friendship and wouldn't want to jeopardize it."

"Promise." Severus said softly, feeling yet another smile grace his usually stoic features.

I got this out a lot sooner than I thought I would. Actually, I completed this in just an hour, LOL. All the comments on some of your reviews actually gave me ideas of how this story will work out, so thank you sooo much and please keep them coming.

Also, I'll be going away for about a month. I'll be in the Philippines for a month or so, so I may not be able to update. I WILL be writing while I'm there, I just can't guarantee that I'll update. I won't be leaving for another couple weeks, (I THINK. We might move the flight sooner). I'll TRY and get another chapter or two in before I leave, but it really depends on if I can get them written in time. So any ideas you guys have will be a BIG help in getting this story moving. You guys are my motivation in writing this story =D

Don't forget to drop me a line or two :)  
Lots of love,  
Nixxx


	5. Chapter 5

_Warnings: Slash. No like, no read, deal?_

_I'd like to thank my awesome beta, __**GoldenRoya**__, for fixing up all my stupid mistakes. You guys can thank her for that, too :)  
And of course to all you reviewers who helped me come up with ideas for the next few chapters. You guys rock!_

**Chapter Five**

"Hogsmeade is tomorrow," James announced as the Marauders made their way up to their dorm room. "Do you think I should ask Lily to go with me?"

"Why bother?" Peter pushed the door open and dropped his stuff on his bed. "You already know she's going to say no to you."

"You never know, Pete," James said optimistically. "One of these days, she'll say yes. Just you wait." With that said, James dumped his stuff on his own bed and hurried out of the room to find Lily.

"Hey Moony, remind me to stop by Zonko's tomorrow," Sirius plopped down on his bed. "I have to get more dung bombs and stuff."

"You'll have to ask Peter to do that." Remus sat on his bed and searched through his bag for his book.

"Why not? Aren't you going with us?"

"I'll have to take a rain check, Padfoot."

"Why aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Remus?" Peter asked.

"I am going to Hogsmeade. I just can't go with you guys tomorrow."

"Why?" Sirius sat up and stared at Remus.

"I have a date."

"What? With who?"

Remus braced himself for the reaction he knew was coming. "Severus."

"WHAT?" Sirius and Peter shouted in unison, their eyes wide with disbelief.

"What's going on?" James asked from the door. From the looks of his now neon pink hair, Lily had said no.

"Remus is going on a date with _Snivellus,_" Sirius spat out the name as if it were poison.

"I wish you guys would stop calling him that." But no one heard Remus because of James's sudden outburst.

"What? Why? What did he do to you? Are you okay? Did he feed you a love potion or something?" James sounded almost hysterical.

"Prongs, it's nothing like that," Once again, Remus was ignored. His three friends began planning their revenge on the Slytherin.

"Guys," Remus tried to get their attention.

"What if we trap him in a room with a hundred fire crabs?" Peter suggested. James thought about it for a while, then nodded and added it to their rapidly growing list of possible revenge ideas.

"Guys!" Remus shouted, finally getting the attention of his friends.

Once three pairs of eyes were on him, Remus took a deep breath and began talking. His voice got sterner with each word.

"I know that you guys don't get along with him, but I actually _like_ Severus. I think he's a great guy. And he didn't do anything to me. He asked me out on a date and I said yes because I _want_ to go out with him. So stop plotting your revenge and leave it be, alright?"

"But Remus…" Sirius was the first of the three to speak.

"No, Sirius." Remus looked his friend straight in the eyes. Sirius had to look away, because of the intensity of his gaze. "I don't bother you about any of the girls you date, so do the same for me. And don't you dare do anything to sabotage my date with Severus."

Remus pulled the curtains closed around his bed and Sirius could say nothing more. He looked at James and they exchanged confused looks. Remus had gotten mad at them a few times before, but never once had he shut them out like he had just now.

xXxXx

When Sirius woke up the next day, Remus had already left their room. _He's probably still angry at us_, thought Sirius. He quickly checked the time and saw that he still had about an hour before the students were able to leave for Hogsmeade. He closed his eyes and willed sleep to return, but no avail. He was too busy thinking about Remus and Severus going out on a date today.

After about twenty minutes of thinking, he finally decided to get out of bed and take a shower. After he was changed and ready, he woke James and Peter. When they got to the Great Hall, Sirius's eyes immediately sought out Remus. He found him sitting at the edge of Gryffindor table with Lily and Alice.

Remus looked nice. He wore a dark blue button up shirt with the cuffs folded at his elbow. His hair was combed back instead of hanging in front of his eyes like it usually did. Sirius quickly glanced at the Slytherin table and saw Snape there. He was dressed in all black and had tied back his shoulder length hair. Sirius glared at the Slytherin—who continued eating his breakfast calmly, having not noticed Sirius—before following James to sit with Remus and the two girls.

"Did _Severus_ give you that hickey?" Sirius heard Alice ask. Hot anger rose up in his chest.

"What hickey?" Peter asked, having also heard Alice.

"Nothing," Remus replied, a soft blush on his face. "Alice was just messing around."

"Aww, James, why'd you change your hair?" Alice asked the boy sitting next to her. "The pink really suited you."

James glared as Alice laughed. It took him forever to change his hair color back because Peter and Sirius were incompetent when it came to Lily's hexes and Remus wasn't talking to them, so he couldn't help. Alice just rolled her eyes at him and laughed some more. James turned his attention from the laughing girl to the red head beside her.

"So Lily…"

"Don't even think about it, Potter." Lily glared at James, her hand ready to reach into her pocket and take out her wand.

"You know," Alice spoke up before Lily could hex James again. "You and Sev would make a pretty good looking couple, Rem."

"It's just one date," Remus mumbled while his face turned red.

"Remus and that ugly git?" Sirius's face was a picture of disgust.

"He's not ugly." Lily and Alice said at the same time.

"He's got a certain charm to him," Lily continued, ignoring James, who looked angry.

"Yeah, and he and Remus would look cute together," Alice repeated her earlier opinion, ignoring James and Sirius's protesting.

Sirius looked over Peter's head and stared at the Slytherin table. He glared as soon as his eyes landed on Snape. He really didn't like him, and he didn't like the idea of Remus going on a date with him.

xXxXx

Sirius followed his friends through the doors of the Three Broomsticks and walked over to their usual table. Once they were seated and made their orders, Sirius looked around the room. It was filled with students. Sirius's eyes stopped when he caught sight of Remus and Severus in one corner. He was currently laughing at something Snape had just said.

Sirius scoffed as he continued to watch the pair. Remus was probably just being nice. Snape was the most boring person alive. When they get back to the castle tonight, Remus would probably tell them how bored he was and that he was never going out with the slimy git ever again. Severus said something and Remus laughed again. Sirius glared.

"What are you looking at?" Peter asked. His eyes followed Sirius's gaze and saw the couple, who didn't notice that they had an audience.

"Who does that git think he is?" Sirius grabbed his butterbeer as soon as the waitress set it down and took a huge swig of it.

"Maybe we should just leave it?" James said reasonably.

"Leave it? Why?" Sirius turned his glare to James.

James put his hands up defensively. "I still hate the guy, but what kind of friends are we if we ruin Moony's date?"

"What if he tries something on him?" Sirius countered. "Moony is too trusting sometimes."

"Remus can take care of himself." Peter put in his two cents.

"Yeah, and Lily and Alice seem to like the prat, so he can't be all that bad, can he?" James took a sip of his drink and glanced over to Remus and Severus. The two boys were sitting close to each other as they talked.

"He's a Slytherin, Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed, setting his bottle down harder than he intended. "It could have all been an act to get them to like him. What if he's using this date as a way to get back at Moony after all we've done to him over the years?"

"But Moony's always been nice to him,"

Sirius turned and glared at Peter, who instantly regretted his words. "Are you siding with Severus, Wormtail?"

"N-no, of course not!" Peter cowered under Sirius's glare. "It's just that Moony was really upset last night when we tried to get back at Snivellus. And he told us he _wanted_ to go on that date. We trust Remus, don't we?"

"We trust Remus, but we don't trust that good for nothing Snivellus."

"You know, Pads, you sound almost jealous of Snivellus." James commented.

"_Jealous_?" Sirius stared at James as if he had just grown an extra head. "Why would I be jealous of _him_?"

"I dunno," James shrugged. "I mean, I hate the idea of Remus dating the guy, but you seem to be taking it a lot worse than I am."

"I would never be jealous of that guy." Sirius replied stubbornly.

"If you say so,"

xXxXx

"How was your date?" Sirius asked as soon as Remus walked into the room.

"It was fun, actually," Remus replied with a small smile. "Better than I expected. What are you doing up here? Why aren't you downstairs with everyone?"

"I didn't feel like it," Sirius shrugged. "So tell me about your date."

Remus raised an eyebrow and went to sit next to his friend. "I told you: it was fun. What's up with you?"

"Nothing." Sirius pulled Remus close and kissed him deeply.

"Mmm," Remus felt dizzy when they finally pulled away. Sirius felt triumph at the sight of the almost goofy smile on the werewolf's face. "What was that for?"

"I just wanted to," Sirius leaned forward for a quick kiss. He pulled away and cocked his head to one side. "Did you kiss Snivellus?"

Remus glared at the use of the hated nickname, but shook his head. "Just a kiss on the cheek goodbye."

"Okay, good," Sirius placed his hand on Remus's cheek as he leaned forward for another passionate kiss.

So, for anyone who actually pays attention to my ramblings, here's a little update. My flight is already booked so I leave in roughly 15 days. I'll probably manage to get out another 2 to 3 chapters if I can figure out how to put all these ideas together. So anyone who wants to see something in particular, feel free to do that. My beta suggested a look on the date from Remus or Severus's point of view, and I feel like trying that, just gotta find ideas for what they did on their date XD

Anyway, that's enough of me talking. Thanks for reading! Hope to hear what you think about it :]

Don't forget to drop me a line or two :]  
Lots of love,  
NixxxRky


	6. Chapter 6

_Before I start I want to say some thank you's :)  
Thank YOU for taking the time to read this.  
Thanks to the reviewers for taking even more time to tell me what they think.  
And a big special thanks to __**GoldenRoya**__, who is the awesome-est beta ever_

Chapter Six

"Moony I need your help,"

"With what?" Remus looked up at James. James hardly ever came to him for assistance.

"Lily."

"Lily?"

"Yeah," James nodded. "You're friends with her, so you should be able to help me."

"Okay." Remus set down the book he had been reading. "What do you want help with?"

"How do I get her to go out with me?" James asked in an exasperated voice. "I've been asking her out for years!"

"Have you tried being nice to her?" Remus suggested.

"What do you mean? I'm nice to her!"

"It's not that you're not nice to her. I mean..." Remus paused, trying to find the right words to say. "Prongs, every time you talk to her, all you do is boast about things you've done and act all cocky."

"But I'm only trying to impress her!"

"But Lily isn't like other girls. She isn't the type to just sit around and listen to you tell her about how great you are. She wants someone who cares about what she has to say, about _her_. And bragging doesn't make you seem impressive to her, it just makes you sound like an obnoxious showoff."

"Okay, less bragging." James nodded to show he understood. "What else?"

"You could also try being a little less forward when you ask her out on dates."

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I've seen you ask her out, you never really ask her. You make it sound like she's going to automatically agree with whatever you say, like she has no choice. You can't just say 'hey, Lily, let's go snog in the astronomy tower' and expect her to jump at the chance to do it."

"Hm. Okay, I'll try to stop doing that." He looked thoughtful. Remus half-smiled.

"Is that all you needed, James?"

"Do you think she'll actually like me?" James asked softly.

Remus was taken aback by the insecurity he saw in his usually confident friend. "You never know, James. If you change how you act around her, she may just realize she does like you."

"Thanks, Moony." James grinned at his friend, who smiled back.

"Slughorn hates me!" Sirius burst into the room and threw himself down on the nearest bed, which just happened to be Remus'. "I had to scrub fifty cauldrons! Fifty! And I had to do it the muggle way!"

"Well, you did make three cauldrons explode in class." Remus picked up his book and continued reading, while he ignored the still-angry Sirius who was now using his lap as a pillow.

"Fifty cauldrons!" Sirius repeated. "And five of them had this weird green goo that refused to come off!

"Remus rolled his eyes and left Sirius to rant so he could get it out of his system. The werewolf continued reading, while one of his hands found its way to Sirius' hair and started playing with it. Sirius didn't seem to mind. In fact, it looked as if the touch calmed him down a little.

James noticed the rather intimate position the two boys were in, but said nothing. He filed the information away so he could think about it later. Right now, he had to think about how he was going to get Lily to like him.

xXxXx

"Hello, Severus," Remus greeted his friend as he put his things down on the table.

"Remus." Severus nodded, a small smile forming on his lips. "Lily isn't with you?"

"She had to go back and get something from her room. She said to go ahead without her and she'd just catch up."

"I see."

The two pulled out their books and worked in silence before Severus spoke up."Remus, about our date the other day..."

"Yes?""I was wondering if you'd consider accompanying me on a second date? Of course, what I said still stands: if you want me to back off, I will."Remus put his quill down and thought back to their date.

_Flashback_

_"I'll see you guys later." Remus waved goodbye to his friends and went to the door to meet Severus. He saw the angry look on Sirius's face. He wanted to think that the look was jealousy, but he knew better. Sirius didn't think of him like that. He was probably just upset because he was going on a date with Severus._

_"Remus," Severus greeted him with a small smile. "You look nice."_

_"So do you," Remus replied, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks_

_"Ready to go?" Severus asked when he noticed that they were starting to let students leave. Remus nodded and the two made their way to the doors._

_They walked around the village, taking in the sights. Christmas was a month away, but most of the shops had already started decorating._

_"I always loved coming here during Christmas time," Remus commented. "All these shops always go all-out with their decorations."_

_"But it's always so crowded and bustling and loud." Severus made a face and Remus chuckled softly._

_"I guess there's a downside to everything," Remus shrugged with a small, almost teasing, smile on his face._

_"Want to go inside Honeydukes?" Severus suggested when he saw the shop coming up._

_Remus's eyes brightened at the thought of the sweets and he nodded almost excitedly._

_"Let's go then." Severus led the way, laughing quietly at the childish grin he saw on his date's face._

_The two spent awhile in the shop—way longer than Severus would have liked, but it made Remus happy, so he tried not to look too annoyed by all the excited, sugar-high kids in the place._

_"Do you want anything?" Severus asked, having seen Remus eye a certain display a few times since they'd entered the shop._

_"No, I couldn't," Remus replied shyly._

_"Don't be silly," Severus told him. "I asked you out on this date, so it's only right that I treat you to something."_

_"Sev, you don't have—"_

_Severus ignored Remus and walked over to the candy display he'd seen the other boy looking at. He grabbed three big bars of chocolate wrapped in gold paper and went over to the counter to pay for it, paying no heed to Remus' protests._

_Severus handed the bag to Remus and the Gryffindor couldn't stop a large grin from spreading across his face. "Thank you so much, Sev."_

_The two continued their walk around the village. Severus glanced down at the Gryffindor happily munching on his chocolate and talking animatedly about anything and everything. He had never had this much fun before. He smiled and took a piece of the chocolate that was offered to him and listened contentedly as Remus continued talking._

_"Where do you want to eat?" Severus asked, once it was about time for lunch._

_"Anywhere's fine." Remus looked around and made a face when his eyes landed on Madam Puddifoot's. "Just not there."_

_"How about the Three Broomsticks, then?" Severus asked, seeing Lily's friend, Alice, drag her boyfriend, Frank, into the brightly colored tea shop._

_"Sounds great." Remus caught Frank's eye and gave him a look that clearly said he felt sorry for the guy. Frank made a face and waved at the two boys before being pulled through the door by Alice._

_They walked into the Three Broomsticks and ordered lunch and some drinks. The bell above the door sounded and Remus glanced at it. He saw his friends walking in, and for a moment he held his breath. They wouldn't do anything to his date after he had told them not to, would they? The Marauders went to their usual booth in the corner of the room and Remus was able to breathe again. They hadn't seen him._

_"So are you having fun?" Severus asked conversationally._

_"Yes," Remus replied sincerely. "So far, this date's going way better than I expected it to."_

_"So does this mean you'll agree to a second date?" Severus asked in an almost playful tone._

_Remus laughed. It was rare that Severus looked so carefree and relaxed. He was always so stoic and reserved. Remus decided that he liked this Severus better. He felt a bit of happiness well up in his heart when he realized that _he_ was the reason Severus seemed so happy. "This date isn't even over yet. I'll let you know at the end of the night."_

_"Fair enough." A small smile was shared between the two boys._

_The waitress came with their food and the two began eating._

_"Remus, that Black friend of yours keeps looking over at us."_

_Remus laughed but didn't bother to turn around. "He wasn't exactly thrilled when I said I was going on this date with you."_

_"I'm not surprised. What does surprise me, though, is that he hasn't done anything to try to ruin this day."_

_"He won't," Remus reassured. "I told him not to."_

_"I feel like a zoo exhibit. The other two are looking over here, as well."_

_"You should have seen their faces when I told them," Remus laughed softly at the memory. "James looked like he was going to have a heart attack. They were convinced you had done something to me."_

_"They're idiots," Severus grumbled. He shifted in his seat and moved closer to Remus so he couldn't see the three marauders staring at him as much. He was starting to feel uncomfortable under Black's piercing gaze._

_"They mean well," Remus shrugged. _

_After lunch, Severus and Remus went to see what little of Hogsmeade they hadn't visited yet. Severus had suggested going to the Shrieking Shack a number of times, but Remus was adamant about not going. So instead, they went to the village square, where a group had come together and started singing carols. __The boys stood together, enjoying the music, until it was time to head back to the castle._

_"Today was a lot of fun, Severus. Thank you." _

_The two boys stood together in the entryway near the Great Hall. This was where they had to part ways, because Severus had to go down to the dungeons and Remus had to get upstairs. _

_"Thank you for agreeing to go with me."_

_Remus smiled and took a step closer to the taller boy. He leaned forward and planted a small, chaste kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."_

_Remus walked away, not seeing the blush on pale cheeks or the small smile on the Slytherin's face as he turned and made his way to his common room._

_End flashback_

Remus smiled. "Sure, Sev. A second date sounds like a lot of fun."

The two boys shared a smile just as a confused Lily arrived at their table.

"Something isn't right." Lily said when she reached the table. The two boys raised their eyebrows in confusion so the redhead continued. "James Potter acted like a normal human being today! At breakfast, he came up to me and said good morning. Then he said I looked nice and just walked away. James Potter, of all people! There were no stupid comments or suggestions to go snog in a dark corner somewhere. Then on my way out of the common room, I dropped a book and he handed it to me just like that. He didn't ask for a kiss in return like he normally does. I haven't had to hex him all day! Is he sick or something?"

Remus laughed at the flustered expression on his friend's face. It looked like James had listened to him after all.

xXxXx

_So, sorry there isn't much Sirius/Remus in this. I just wanted to add in a little bit of James/Lily and give Sev a little of the lime light._

Don't forget to drop me a line or two :)  
Lots of love,  
NixxxRky


	7. Chapter 7

_A big special thanks to my super awesome beta: __**GoldenRoya**__.  
Another big thanks to all you reviewers. And to all of you who take the time to read this :)_

**Warning:** Slash. No like, no read, deal?_  
_

Chapter Seven

"A second date?" Sirius stared at Remus with wide eyes. "But you guys just went out a couple days ago!"

"I had fun on the date, Siri," Remus shrugged. "And a second date sounded like a good idea."

"But this is Snivellus Snape we're talking about!"

"Would you stop calling him that?" Remus sighed. "And he really isn't that bad, Sirius."

"Whatever." Sirius crossed his arms over his chest and slumped down in his seat with a pout. "Does he know about our little arrangement?"

"Do all the girls you date know about it?" Remus countered.

"Speaking of our little arrangement, want to go upstairs?" Sirius suggested, already standing up from his seat. "I don't think anyone is up in the dorm room right now."

"Don't you have to meet up with someone later tonight?" Remus tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice as he thought of the tall, skinny redhead he had seen Sirius talking to earlier.

"Not for another hour."

"Wouldn't it be weird if you showed up looking all tousled and thoroughly snogged?"

"I don't think she minds. I look pretty damn sexy thoroughly snogged if I do say so myself." Sirius grinned at Remus, who just rolled his eyes.

"Of course you do." Though his tone sounded bored, Remus completely agreed. Sirius _was_ 'pretty damn sexy' thoroughly snogged.

The two boys entered the empty dorm room and sat on Remus's bed. Sirius gave Remus one last grin before leaning forward and capturing his lips, kissing him deeply. Remus moaned softly as he tilted his head slightly, deepening the kiss even further.

Sirius brought one hand up to rest on Remus's cheek as he slowly guided the smaller boy into a laying position on the bed. Sirius shifted a little until he was leaning on one of his elbows and half on top of Remus. Throughout all that, he had never taken his lips off of the other boy's.

Remus pulled away to catch his breath. Sirius moved to attack his neck. Remus moved his neck to the side to grant Sirius better access. He let out a soft gasp when he felt Sirius bite down suddenly. The pain didn't stay for long, however, because Sirius started treating the new wound by licking it slightly and kissing it softly.

The sound of fast approaching footsteps managed to make it through their passion-filled haze. Faster than lightning, the two pulled apart and were seated on opposite ends of the bed. Remus hurried to straighten out his shirt while Sirius ran a hand through his long hair.

"Moony!" James shouted happily as he burst through the door. "You're a genius!"

"What did I do?" Remus asked with a confused look on his face. Sirius just shrugged at him.

"You know how they said that we can go to Hogsmeade every weekend from now until the holidays start? Anyway, I asked Lily if she wanted to go with me and I did what you suggested and stuff. And she said _yes_!"

"You're going to Hogsmeade with _Lily Evans_ this weekend?" Sirius asked with disbelief written all over his face.

"Well, no," James grinned sheepishly. "She said she'd already made plans to go with Alice this weekend. _But_, she said she was free next weekend! So I have a date with Lily next weekend!"

"Wow, James." Remus was at a loss for words. Even though he had given the advice, he hadn't really thought it would work. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"I know," Sirius agreed. "I can't believe it."

James stuck his tongue out at his friend and plopped down on the bed between the two boys.

"Believe what?" Peter asked as he entered the room and made his way to his bed.

"Hey, Pete," Remus greeted. "How was tutoring?"

"Horrible!" Peter groaned. "Slughorn hates me!"

"Me, too!" Sirius exclaimed. "He must hate all of us or something."

"He's fine with me," Remus commented.

"And me," said James. "Or, well, _sometimes._"

"Whatever." Sirius grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Anyway, what can't you believe?" Peter asked again.

"I got a date with Lily next weekend," James answered with a huge grin on his face.

"You're joking!" Peter's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Is it really that hard to believe?" James asked.

"Yes," the other three answered in unison.

xXxXx

"What's this I hear about you finally saying yes to James?" Remus asked Lily as they walked to Ancient Runes together.

"I did," Lily answered with a small blush appearing on her cheeks. "He's been acting so different lately. He's a lot nicer and more tolerable. I couldn't bring myself to say no. But enough about me! I hear you're going on a second date with Severus."

It was Remus's turn to blush.

"Oh, that's so cute!" Lily squealed. "But, what about Sirius? I thought you liked him?"

Remus glanced around to make sure that no one was listening to the two of them. "I still do. But I like Sev too. And at least with Severus, I have a chance of getting a real relationship. With Sirius, it's nothing but fooling around."

"I understand," Lily nodded. "And, I mean, I guess Black has some good qualities to him—he must have if you like hanging out with him—but he doesn't look like boyfriend material."

"Yeah, I know," Remus said softly. He still really wanted to be with Sirius, but he was starting to really like Severus. He had a few things to think over.

xXxXx

"A third date?" James, Sirius, and Peter looked at Remus like he had a grown another head.

"You guys just went out like three days ago!" Sirius exclaimed.

"It's been a week." Remus rolled his eyes at his friends. "And I really like hanging out with him. Is that so wrong?"

"No, I guess not." James said. "Oh, man! Moony! I need your help!"

"With what?"

"My date with Lily is this weekend! How am I supposed to act around her?"

"Just keep acting the way you're acting now," Remus suggested. "It already got her to say yes, so she obviously likes it."

"I guess," James said thoughtfully. He went to look through his trunk to make sure he had something clean to wear while Peter went back to finishing something for Professor Slughorn.

"So you really like this guy, huh?" Sirius moved to sit next to Remus on his bed.

"I do," Remus said with a small smile. "That doesn't bother you, does it? I know you don't really like him…"

"I don't," Sirius replied bluntly. "But, if you like him, what kind of friend would I be if I stopped you from seeing him? Just make sure that you tell me if he ever does anything to you."

"Sure thing," Remus chuckled softly.

xXxXx

Remus stood in front of the mirror and combed his hair. James wasn't too far from him, _trying_ to do the same to his untamable mane. Remus laughed at his attempts and went back to adjusting his collar. Once he was satisfied with his look, he said goodbye to James, who was still struggling with the black nest on his head, and went downstairs to meet Severus.

Severus was waiting for Remus by the Great Hall door, as always. He stayed in the shadows, away from all the other chattering students. He glanced up when he saw people coming down the stairs and was glad to see that Remus was one of them. He stepped forward so Remus could see him. The two shared a smile.

"Hello, Remus," Severus greeted. He was about to say more but stopped when he saw something on the other boy's neck. He had left the top buttons undone and was still holding on to his shirt, so Severus could clearly see the dark bruise at the junction where his neck and shoulders met. He looked away so Remus wouldn't see his frown. He knew where that mark was from. And he hated it.

"So where are we off to today, Sev?" Remus asked happily as they made their way to the castle entrance.

"Why don't you choose?" Severus kept his voice even, as he watched the Gryffindor put on his tie, hiding the offending mark.

"How about the book store?" Remus suggested, oblivious to Severus's seething anger. "I need something new to read."

"Sure."

Severus watched as Remus walked around the shop, occasionally picking a book up from the shelf and flipping through it. Occasionally, he would glance down at a potion book or smile at Remus to show he wasn't bored. However, his attention was far from this shop and the books. He had spent the past half hour thinking, and he had made a decision. He just hoped he wasn't being too rash or moving too quickly.

At lunch, Severus led Remus to one of the more private booths in the back of the Three Broomsticks. After the two ordered their meals, Severus turned to Remus.

"Remus, I want to ask you something."

"What is it, Severus?"

"I know we've only gone on three dates, but we've been friends for much longer and we spend time together a lot," Severus started. He felt the anxiety and nervousness building up, but pushed those feelings away and focused on what he was saying. "I like you, Remus. I have for a while, and these past three dates have only verified my feelings for you."

Remus listened quietly. Severus reached forward and took his hands.

"What I'm trying to say is: Remus, will you be my boyfriend?"

"What?" Remus was surprised. He knew he should have seen this coming, but he hadn't given it much thought.

Severus swallowed the fear of rejection and looked directly into the Gryffindor's eyes. "I want to be your boyfriend, Remus. Even though we've been dating, I know that it isn't exactly exclusive. I know that you still get together with Black. But I don't want that. I want you to date me, and only me.

"I know I might be moving quickly, but I don't like the idea of you seeing Black and doing who knows what. I know how I feel about you, and you _must_ like me if you agreed to go out with me these past three weekends."

Remus opened his mouth, but no words came out. He had thought about his feelings for both Sirius and Severus the past week. He never came to a definite conclusion, however, because he'd thought he had more time.

"Severus…" Remus's mind was racing with thoughts. He didn't pull his hands away from the other boy's grasp, enjoying the warm feeling of it because the day was cold. He thought fast, weighing the possible outcomes of each answer. After what felt like hours, though they were only a few seconds, Remus finally came up with an answer.

"Severus, I…"

* * *

_You just gotta love them cliffhangers, huh? :D  
So, you think he should say yes? No? I already know what he's going to say, but it would be nice to see what you all think._

_Anyway, I'm off to the Philippines tomorrow night for a month long vacation (Yay) so updates may take a while. But, I will have the computer to myself when everyone is at work/school (don't you just hate these different summer vacations? 'Cause I do.) so I SHOULD be able to write every now and then. So keep the opinions/suggestions coming because I need ideas to keep this story moving XD  
You can also follow my little vacation if you want (Though I don't see why you would, but I'll put it up here anyway) on my tumblr (links on my profile xD)_

_Don't forget to drop me a line or two :]  
Lots of love,  
NixxxRky_


	8. Chapter 8

_Guess whose back! LOL. Anyway:_

_Big thanks to my awesome beta __**GoldenRoya**_

_A big thanks to all of you readers_

_And a big thanks to all you reviewers_

Chapter Eight

"Severus, I…" Remus paused and took a calming breath.

Severus looked at him anxiously.

"I'd love to be your boyfriend."

It took a few seconds before the words registered, but when they did, a bright smile broke over the normally stoic Slytherin's face. Remus's heart warmed at the sight. He had never seen him look so happy before.

Remus felt a smile breaking out over his own face. _He _was the reason Severus looked so happy, and it made him feel good knowing that. He really did like Sirius, but he liked Severus as well. And at least with Severus, he could have a real relationship. It might not be completely fair right now, but given time, Remus thought he may just forget his feelings for the rambunctious Gryffindor.

The two boys were just making their way back to the castle as the sun began sinking. They chattered happily about anything that came to mind.

"Hey, there's Lily and James." Remus easily recognized the fiery red hair and the messy bird's nest head.

"I can't believe she actually said yes to him."

Remus noticed that the comment didn't have the disdainful tone it usually held when Severus talked about any of the Marauders—minus Remus, of course. Severus was in too good of a mood to be bothered by anything, even James Potter.

"Let's go catch up to them." Remus grabbed the other boy's hand and started pulling him forward.

"Hey, guys!" Lily smiled as the two boys approached them. James said a quick hello to Remus and even nodded civilly to Severus, who nodded back after a moment of surprise. Remus raised an eyebrow at his friend, who grinned back. Apparently their date had gone well.

"Did you guys have fun?" Lily asked conversationally. She noticed that the two boys were still holding hands as they continued their trek back to the school.

"Yes," Remus answered happily. "I'm guessing you two had a good time, as well?"

"We had a bloody brilliant time!" James answered zealously, which caused Lily to giggle softly.

The four continued to talk about their respective days the entire way back to the school. Even James and Severus managed to put their six-year-long rivalry aside to exchange a few civilwords. Everyone was in a good mood.

Because they took their time walking, the Great Hall was half-full by the time they got back. Instead of parting in front of the door like they usually did, Severus followed Remus all the way to the Gryffindor table.

xXxXxXx

Sirius, who had been talking to a fair-haired fifth year, looked up when the four approached. He saw Remus's hand clasped in Snape's and glared. Remus said something to the Slytherin that Sirius couldn't hear. Sirius's eyes widened slowly when he saw the small smile that appeared on the Slytherin's face. He'd never seen him smile before. Remus took a seat across from Sirius, but the dog animagus'gaze was locked on the Slytherin. His glare stayed on Snape's back as he walked over to his house table and took a seat.

"What was that about?" Sirius turned his attention to Remus once a rather large Slytherin blocked his view of Snape.

"Hmm?" Remus looked up from the plate he was filling.

"The holding-hands thing."

"I was going to ask you about that," Lily, who had decided to sit with James, spoke up.

"It's nothing," Remus mumbled, fighting down the blush that had made its way onto his face.

"Is he your boyfriend or something?" the blonde that Sirus had been talking to earlier asked. Remus mumbled incoherently and took a big bite of dinner so he wouldn't have to answer. "Because you two look adorable together!"

"You know," Peter spoke though a mouth full of potatoes, "I never understand how girls can say people look cute together. What makes them cute together? And do they stop being cute when they're apart?"

Lily and the blonde looked at Pete strangely, while Remus looked grateful that the attention was off of him. One person, however, continued to stare at him thoughtfully.

xXxXxXx

"So, _is_ he your boyfriend?" Sirius asked. He and Remus were seated on a couch across from James and Peter in the common room.

Remus looked at the other two. James was busy telling Peter all about his date.

"He asked me to be his boyfriend today."

"You said yes." It was a statement.

"I did."

"Why?"

"We should talk somewhere more private." Without waiting for Sirius to answer, Remus stood up, told James and Peter he was leaving, and went to the stairs leading to the dorm rooms.

Once they got to the room, the two sat on Remus's bed in silence. After a couple minutes of silence, Sirius leaned forward to capture the other boy's lips, as he had done numerous times before. But this time, Remus moved away.

"Sirius, I said we needed to talk."

"Okay, fine." Sirius pouted but moved a little away from the werewolf. "So you said yes to Snivellus?"

"Now that we're officially dating, I wish you wouldn't call him that."

"I promise I'll try."

"So you're okay with me and Sev dating?"

"No," Sirius replied bluntly. "I don't particularly like the idea of you and Snape. But if you like the bloke, then I have to at least try. I can't make any guarantees though."

"Thank you, Sirius."

"So is that it then?" Sirius asked, taking Remus by surprise. He hadn't expected Sirius to take to his new boyfriend this easily.

"I guess?"

"Alright then." With that said, Sirius moved closer to kiss the other boy.

"Sirius!" Remus pushed him away.

"What?"

"I just told you I have a boyfriend now."

"So?" Sirius cocked his head to the side, confused.

"I thought it would be obvious." Remus sighed. "We can't keep doing this, Padfoot."

"Why not?"

"Because I have a boyfriend now."

"So?"

"So we can't do this! It might be okay for you to keep this up even when you're seeing other girls, but I'm not like that. And I can't do that to Severus."

"But its not like we're doing anything serious." Sirius stopped when he realized what he said and chuckled softly. Remus rolled his eyes at the lame joke.

"Even though," Remus's tone was quite stern sounding. "I can't, and _won't_, do that to Sev. So we have to stop what we're doing."

"Oh," was all Sirius could say. An odd feeling had begun in his chest and he couldn't place it.

"We're still okay, though, right?" Remus asked worriedly, seeing the strange expression on Sirius's face.

"Of course!" Sirius smiled wide, but the tightness in his chest was still there. "It's not like we were madly in love with each other or anything. It was just fun—no strings attached, right?"

"Right," Remus said with a soft smile. "Thanks for understanding, Siri."

Sirius watched as Remus stood up from the bed and walked away. The weird feeling in his chest was still there and it seemed to be getting worse and worse. His stomach felt odd, almost as if he were nauseous, but not really. He had no way to describe how he was feeling because he had never felt it before. The closest he got to feeling like this was back in fourth year, when he got into a fight with James and they didn't talk for a whole week; he had felt horrible during that week, like he had truly lost his best friend. Thank Merlin they made up.

But this new feeling he was experiencing... It felt a lot like what he felt with James, but at the same time, it was different.

It felt a lot worse.

_So I just got back from my trip this morning. After I left the airport, I had a quick breakfast and hurried to my college where I had to register for classes. So here I am about ready to knock out and sleep forever, but first I thought I've kept you guys waiting long enough so here's a new chapter!_

_Reviews = Love and Inspiration_

_Don't forget to drop me a line or two.  
Lot's of Love,  
NixxxRky._


	9. Chapter 9

_A big thanks to my beta, **GoldenRoya**_

And a big thanks to all you readers and reviewers, who give me the motivation to keep this story going =)

Where's Moony?" Sirius asked as he plopped down into a seat next to James.

"He left already," Peter answered as he reached for more toast.

"What? Why? Class doesn't start for another twenty minutes!"

"He said something about meeting Severus at the library before classes." Sirius was surprised to see Lily sitting on the other side of James. He hadn't noticed her there earlier.

"But breakfast is pretty much the only time we see him!" Sirius whined slightly. "He's always out with Snape during lunch and dinner and in the evenings."

"They look so cute together," Lily commented with a small giggle.

"And they look so much happier now that they're together," Alice, who was sitting next to Lily, added.

"Does Snivellus know about Moony's condition?" James asked Sirius quietly while the two girls giggled and talked together.

"I really doubt that, Prongs."

"Tonight is the full moon."

"I know, so what?"

"Well, if Moony's been spending all his time with Snape, what's he going to say now that he has to leave before the moon comes up?"

"I never thought about that." Sirius took a sip of his juice and thought about it for a minute. "He'll probably come up with something. And I doubt Snivellus is the clingy type."

Sirius opened the classroom door to see Remus already there. He walked up to the young werewolf and glared when he saw the person he was sitting next to.

"Can I help you, Black?" Snape asked when Sirius approached.

"You can, actually," Sirius said, coolly. "You're sitting in my seat."

"I'll talk to you after class," Snape said to Remus. Sirius's eyes narrowed when Snape leaned down to peck Remus's cheek. He watched the Slytherin walk to his seat and didn't sit down until the other boy did.

"I told you to be nice," Remus said in a tired voice. Sirius turned to him and tried to hide the worried expression on his face. Remus looked gravely ill. He knew it was because of the full moon, but he still worried nonetheless.

"I _was _being nice," Sirius gave Remus his brightest, most charming smile. "Usually, I would just hex the snot out of him."

Remus rolled his eyes at his friend but Sirius caught sight of his lips twitching into a smile, slightly.

"Hey, Moony, what did you tell Snape about tonight?"

"Tonight? I didn't tell him anything. Why should I?"

"You've been spending all your nights together this whole week. Wouldn't it be weird if you suddenly just told him you couldn't hang out?"

"I'm sure he'll understand. I don't _have_ to spend all my time with him."

"Then why do you?"

"I like being with him," Remus answered, simply. A strange, tight feeling erupted in Sirius' chest, but he didn't dwell on it because Professor Slughorn chose that moment to walk in and start the class.

Sirius looked up to the sound of the door closing shut. He sat up straight when he realized that it was Remus, and he looked upset.

"Remmy? What's wrong?" Sirius gasped when he realized that there were unshed tears shining in the werewolf's eyes.

Remus shrugged and went to sit on his bed. He blinked rapidly, trying to rid himself of the tears. Sirius stood up from his bed and walked over to the other boy. He wrapped his arms around his shaking form and held him tightly.

"What happened, Remmy?"

"It's Sev," Remus said softly, wiping at his eyes.

"What?" The only thing that stopped Sirius's anger from boiling over was the fact that he was holding Remus. "What did the bastard do to you?"

"He didn't do anything," Remus hurried to explain. "We got into a fight. I don't even know why I'm being so emotional about it."

Sirius smiled at Remus's attempt to make a joke. "But what happened?"

"Last week, during the moon, he got really worried and insisted that I go to the infirmary. I told him I was fine. Then I told him I was going to spend some time with you guys after classes because we haven't spent much time together."

Sirius remained silent and let Remus tell him everything before he commented.

"Then after the full moon he asked me what happened and said that he saw you guys at dinner but I wasn't there. I told him that I just wasn't up for eating. Then I don't really know what happened and who said what, but basically it ended with him saying that I was keeping secrets from him and we got into an argument about it."

Remus shrugged and tried to act like it wasn't a big deal, but Sirius could tell that he was trying to hold back his tears.

"He's such a bastard." Sirius placed his hands on Remus's face and gently lifted it up so they were facing each other. He smiled softly and wiped at the stray tear that managed to fall from the amber eyes. Without really thinking, he leaned forward and captured Remus's lips in a small kiss.

"I told you we had to stop this." Remus pushed Sirius away. "I have a boyfriend now, Siri."

"You guys are still together?" Sirius asked, confusedly.

"We got into a fight, Pads. That doesn't mean we broke up."

"Sorry, I didn't realize," Sirius mumbled softly.

"It's alright, Pads." Remus smiled at the other boy and stood up from his bed. "Well, I'm feeling a little better. Thanks, Siri."

"Don't mention it," Sirius grinned widely. "Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to go find Severus and see if we can talk about this now that I'm not about to start bursting into tears."

"Oh, alright." There was that feeling again. Sirius laid back on Remus's bed and decided it was about time he figured out what that weird tightening in his chest was.

It always happened whenever Remus would leave him to go see Snivellus. He may not like the Slytherin, but that was no reason for his chest pains. He raised his hands and placed it on his chest, right over where the pain always happened. It was right over his heart. Why would his heart be hurting? It made no sense.

He thought back to other feelings he had when it came to Remus and Snivellus. Sirius glared. Just thinking about the two of them together made him angry. He still had no idea why Remus liked him so much. Sirius felt himself burning up with anger at the thought of the couple.

He hated knowing that Snape was Remus's boyfriend. And that he kissed the werewolf. And he couldn't help but feel the urge to hex the greasy git whenever he saw the two of them walking down the halls together hand in hand. He hated that the Slytherin walked Remus to all his classes and even carried his books for him. He just plain hated it that they were together.

But all his anger was pointed at Snape. It made him mad to think of all the things Snape did for and with Remus. But when he thought about Remus doing those things, it didn't make him angry, it just made his chest feel tight again. That made no sense. He was angry at Snape for being in the relationship with his friend, but was hurt that Remus was in it.

Sirius sighed and rolled over onto his stomach. All this thinking was making him even more confused. He buried his head into Remus's pillow and smiled when he was met with the scent of strawberries that was the werewolf's shampoo. He always liked that smell. Sirius closed his eyes and let his mind wander for a bit.

The young Gryffindor's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up in bed when a sudden thought came to him. He shook his head slightly, unable to believe what he was thinking, but the more he tried to deny it, the clearer it seemed to become.

"Fuck," he cursed softly to himself. "I fancy Remus."

_And here ends this newest installment of this story. Hope you all liked it.  
_

_Don't forget to tell me what you think :) and feel free to throw in any suggestions or things you want to see in this story, and I'll try my best to make it happen. Also, I have a new story out called Can You Keep A Secret? if any of you are interested in a little more Remmy/Siri love :D  
_


	10. Chapter 10

_A big thanks to:  
__**GoldenRoya**__, the awesome-est beta ever.  
All of you who reviewed, alerted, and favorite-ed this story_

_**Warning: **__If the idea of two boys kissing and doing stuff together offends you, then feel free to turn back now. _

Remus walked into the room with a grin on his face. Sirius noticed that his hair and clothes were disheveled, and his lips looked slightly bruised. He wasn't sure, but he thought he even saw a red mark peeking out from under his shirt collar.

"Made up with your boyfriend, I see," Sirius commented, trying not to let his voice show the hurt and jealousy he was feeling.

"Yeah." Remus nodded, grin still in place. "All we needed was a bit of cooling down. Thanks for cheering up me up earlier, Pads."

"Anything for you, Remmy," Sirius replied, meaning every word.

~~~~~HP~~~~~

"Why do you look so mopey?" James asked Sirius at breakfast.

"I'm not moping!"

"You've been frowning at your eggs for the last fifteen minutes. You look like you lost your best mate or something, which is impossible seeing as I'm sitting here right in front of you."

"S'nothing, James. I just have some stuff on my mind."

"Stuff like what?"

"Nothing you should worry your pretty little head over, Prongs." Sirius flashed him a reassuring smile and began eating his breakfast.

After gulping down his juice, Sirius looked around him. James was sitting across from him, and next to James was Peter. Lily, who had taken to eating at meals with them, was on James's other side. Sirius looked at the empty seat beside himself and sighed. That seat usually belonged to Remus. Remus had always sat next to him at every meal. But lately, he'd taken to eating his meals outside, or eating quickly and then heading off to meet Snape somewhere. Sirius hated it. He only ever saw Remus during classes now. He was always getting back to the dorm rooms late and leaving early in the morning.

Sirius knew that he should be happy for Remus. He may hate Snape, but as Remus' friend, he should be glad that the werewolf had found someone who made him happy. But after realizing his feelings for the other boy, he just couldn't help but hate how happy Snape was making his friend. _He _should be the one who was making Remus happy. He knew him more. He knew about his condition and he could definitely make him so much happier.

"Padfoot!" James shouted, breaking Sirius out of his thoughts. "I've been trying to get your attention for the longest time now. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing, James. Really," Sirius insisted. James gave him one last worried glance before dropping the issue.

~~~~~HP~~~~~

Severus pulled away from Remus and looked at him with concern. "Are you alright, Rem?"

"I'm fine, Sev," Remus replied, but his voice sounded strained. The full moon was in a couple of days and he wasn't feeling very well.

"You look sick, Remus," Severus insisted. He leaned forward and kissed Remus on the forehead. He couldn't help but notice how pale and sickly the other boy looked.

Instead of answered, Remus reached out and grabbed him by the front of his robes. He smiled deviously and pulled the startled boy closer and crushed their lips together. After getting over his initial shock, Severus eagerly responded.

Remus's tongue slid out of his mouth and he ran it along the other boy's bottom lip, eliciting a soft moan from him. The Gryffindor took the opportunity to slip his tongue into the Slytherin's mouth. Both boys let out sounds of appreciation as their tongues danced together.

Remus ran his hand through Severus' hair, which was, contrary to what his friends believed, rather soft. He felt hands pulling him closer from around his waist. Using his hands to hold the other boy's head in place, his tongue easily gained dominance and explored every part of Severus' mouth that it could reach. Remus removed his hands from the other boy's long dark hair and pushed him against the wall behind them. He stepped forward and pushed his body against Severus', so that there was barely any space between them.

After a few minutes, the need for oxygen was just too much to ignore and the two had to pull apart. Both were panting heavily and their lips glistened with saliva.

"I told you I was alright." Remus was the first to break the silence.

~~~~~HP~~~~~

"Black." Sirus stopped at the cold voice that called his name. He turned around and glared.

"What do you want?" He glanced around to see that they were the only ones in the hallway.

"I need to talk to you." Snape's voice remained cold and he looked as if Sirius was the last person he wanted to talk to.

"What do you need from me?" Sirius asked, suspiciously.

"I need to talk to you about Remus." At the name of the werewolf, Snape had Sirius's full attention.

"What about him?"

"Something's wrong with him." Sirius almost panicked when he heard those words, but then he remembered that it was almost the full moon. "And I know that you know what it is."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sirius tried to walk past him, but Snape blocked his way.

"I _know_ that you know." There was malice in the Slytherin's voice.

"So what if I do?" Sirius challenged.

"Tell me."

"Give me one reason why I should."

"Remus is _my_ boyfriend. I have a right to know." Snape's obsidian eyes narrowed further as he took a step forward. Sirius, not one to be easily intimidated, stood his ground.

"If Remus didn't tell you, he obviously doesn't want you to know."

"Just tell me what it is, you bloody bastard!"

"Fuck you!"

"I'll find out eventually," Snape threatened.

"Hah!" Sirius scoffed. "If he doesn't want you to know, then he'll never tell you, boyfriend or not. You'll never get it out of him unless you try and spy on him. But even then, it'll be hard."

Sirius started laughing at how ridiculous Remus's boyfriend spying on him sounded but stopped when he thought he saw a strange gleam in the Slytherin's eyes. But when he looked closer, there was nothing in those dark eyes but cold hatred.

"This isn't over, Black." Snape's voice was just dripping with venom. "Trust me. I _will_ find out."

_Attempt at canon here I come? Brownie points to those of you who can guess what's coming up next, though you probably already know.  
Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to review because I'm a sad little child and seeing reviews in my inbox make me feel happy because I'm a nerd like that XD_


	11. Chapter 11

_As usual, thanks to __**GoldenRoya**__, the greatest beta ever.  
And to all of you readers and reviewers who have kept me motivated since this story began._

Sirius was just about ready to bounce off the walls. Ever since his talk with Snape, he'd been feeling really uneasy. The bad feeling had started and just kept growing and growing until he felt as if it was going to eat him alive. He couldn't stop thinking about that conversation. He could just sense that something bad was going to happen.

"Padfoot, would you quit fidgeting around?" Peter asked in an exasperated voice. He was having a hard time eating his lunch because Sirius kept moving around in his seat and shifting this and that around on the table in front of him.

"Sorry, Wormtail." Sirius gave him a quick sheepish smile. "Just feeling a bit restless, I guess. I think I'm going to go for a walk."

Without waiting for his friends to say anything, Sirius stood up and headed outside. He didn't get very far before he saw Remus and Snape sitting on a bench in the courtyard. He moved to stand behind a nearby tree and watched the couple.

The two boys were talking. Remus looked pale and tired, but it could have just been a result of the upcoming full moon. Snape looked annoyed. He was saying something to Remus. The werewolf sighed and replied. Snape looked even more annoyed but said nothing and stared at the ground. From where he was standing, Sirius couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could guess that they were arguing about how sick Remus looked.

Sirius was getting tired of standing behind the tree and was about to leave when he noticed Snape saying something again. Remus seemed to have finally run out of patience and snapped at the Slytherin. Snape looked taken aback by whatever Remus had said, before he retorted back. The two argued for a while before Remus stood up and stormed off. After a few seconds, Sirius left his position behind the tree and ran off to find Remus.

"Moony!" Sirius called out when he finally caught up to the other boy. Remus turned around and gave Sirius a strained smile.

"Hey, Siri, why aren't you in lunch?" The effort Remus put in to keep his voice normal was audible; it was clear exactly how upset he was, especially to someone who knew the werewolf as well as Sirius did.

"I was feeling a little restless," Sirius shrugged. He decided not to tell Remus that he had seen him fighting with Snape. "I just wanted to go out for a little walk. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Remus started walking ahead of him. "Just a little tired—full moon and all."

"I think it's more than the full moon," Sirius said under his breath. Remus, whose senses were enhanced because of the moon, heard him.

"Sirius, really." Remus sighed and ran a tired hand through his hair. "It's nothing you have to worry about."

"I saw you fighting with Snivellus."

"I've asked you not to call him that."

"Sorry." Sirius took a step closer to the other boy. "But I saw the two of you fighting and I know that's why you're upset. What did the git do to you?"

"We just got into an argument, Padfoot. It's normal for couples to get into arguments every now and then."

"Remus." A voice behind the two Gryffindors made them stop and turn around. Snape was approaching them. He stopped and glared when he saw Sirius. "Black."

"Snape." Sirius glared back.

"Let's go outside and talk, Remus," Snape turned to the werewolf, completely ignoring Sirius.

"He's not gonna talk to you after what you did!" Sirius moved to stand in front of Remus almost protectively.

Snape's eyes narrowed further and he made to grab his wand. Sirius' hands inched towards his robe pocket, where his wand was, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"It's okay, Siri." The werewolf gave him a small smile. "I'll see you in class, okay?"

"Fine," Sirius grumbled, and watched as the two boys walked away. Before they turned the corner, Snape looked back and gave Sirius a smirk. Tha bad feeling that had been replaced by his worry for Remus came back, full force.

Remus kissed Severus goodbye and walked into class. His friends still weren't there so he went to their usual place and sat down, pulling out his stuff and waiting for class to start. He leaned forward in his seat and rested his head in his arms.

Severus was acting weird today. Remus had told him countless times that he couldn't study with him after classes, but he was very insistent. He hadn't been like that before. Last time, Severus had understood when he said that he wanted to spend some time with his friends and left him be. His boyfriend also kept asking him about what plans he could possibly have that he couldn't move to tomorrow.

He also seemed more…secretive. Remus couldn't really find a word to describe how weird his boyfriend was acting, but something was off. Every time he turned lately, he would find Severus looking at him with a calculating stare. When Remus had asked him about it, the other boy simply stated that he liked looking at the Gryffindor and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

While Remus was flattered at the compliment, there was something about it that just didn't seem right. Finally, the werewolf sighed and tried to bury his head further into his arms. All this thinking was starting to give him a headache. Perhaps it was just the moon making him see things that weren't really there. There was nothing going on with Severus. He turned his head and faced the wall. Now all he had to worry about was finding an excuse to get out of meeting with the Slytherin later.

Remus looked down at his notes and made a face. Only half the page looked like real words, but he couldn't make heads nor tails of any of it. He put his quill down and rubbed his temples. The headache from earlier had grown and now it felt as if his head was about to explode. He couldn't wait to get out of this class and head to the Shack. He managed to convince Severus that he wasn't feeling too well and was going to spend the night in bed in hopes that it would make him feel better in the morning.

Something nudging his foot got his attention. He turned to the side and found Sirius giving him a worried look. He mouthed 'are you okay' and Remus motioned to his head, indicating that he had a bit of a headache. Sirius gave him a sympathetic smile and turned back to the lecture.

Now that he thought about it, Sirius was acting weird, too. He seemed nervous and on edge. The more Remus thought about it, the more he realized that all his friends seemed to be acting a little strange today. Sirius couldn't seem to stop fidgeting. Severus seemed secretive. James looked worried, though his worry seemed to be because of Sirius's odd behavior. And Lily seemed worried as well. Whether she was worried about Remus and the moon tonight, like she was every month, or it was because James was worried, he wasn't sure. The only person who seemed normal was Peter, though he looked a little annoyed with all of Sirius' fidgeting. Remus probably would have been annoyed too if he had to sit next to the boy bouncing in his seat all day.

Remus bid goodbye to his friends and made his way towards the entrance of the castle. The sun was just beginning to sink below the trees of the Forbidden Forest. He had maybe twenty minutes before the moon rose. It was cold outside, but Remus welcomed it. The cold wind on his skin seemed to be helping his pounding headache. On his way to the Whomping Willow, Remus had to stop and turn around a few times.

He had the feeling that someone was following him. It was too early for his friends to be heading to the shack, and everyone else should be at dinner. But every time he looked back, there was always no one there. He made it all the way to the front of the willow but still, the feeling of being followed had not gone away. He picked up a small fallen branch to use to hit the knot of the tree, but stopped and looked around again. He could have sworn he'd seen something out of the corner of his eyes.

He brandished the branch like a weapon and looked out. All he could see was grass and a few trees and the castle standing majestically behind everything. He scrutinized the grounds once more, unable to shake the feeling. After the third time looking through the grounds, he finally decided that he was just being paranoid and hit the knot that stopped the Whomping Willow.Ducking his head under the frozen branches**,** he hurried into the underground passage. Remus lay on an old ratty mattress in the Shrieking Shack. Massive spasms of pain wracked his body as it prepared for its transformation. The moon was rising and Remus could practically feel his bones and muscles beginning to move out of place.

A loud sound caught his attention and he sat up slowly. There it was again—the sound was coming from the door. He thought that perhaps it was his friends coming in early, but it couldn't be. They knew better than to come in before he transformed. He hated them to see him in this state, so he'd forbidden them from coming until the moon was high in the sky.

There was another loud thump and the door opened. Remus's eyes widened in shock. Severus was slowly making his way into the room. His black eyes scanned the dark and musty room before landing on where Remus was, in the back of the room.

Remus tried to stand, but another spasm of pain shot through his body, making him cry out in pain and bringing him to his knees. Remus used his hands to hold him up as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up at Severus and saw him frozen in shock at the door. What was he doing here? How did he even get here?

Remus tried to stand up again. He glanced out the window and saw the moon peeking over the trees. It would be fully risen any minute now. Remus bit down on his lip to hold back the scream that was threatening to burst out. He managed to get himself up on shaky legs and tried to take another step towards the frozen Slytherin. He had to make him leave, he had to get him out...! If he bit Severus... if he hurt him... No, he couldn't allow it!

"Severus…!"

The name was the last thing he said before the pain overwhelmed him and an almost howl-like scream ripped from his throat. Severus's wide eyes and frightened face was the last thing he saw before his eyes were forced closed in pain and all he could see was bursting white lights behind his eyelids.

_No, please, no,_ was the last coherent thought he had before he lost himself to the pull of the moon.

_This is where I slip in some canon, but I _will_ add my own little twist to it, just to fit it into my story and because I'm the author and I can write what I want XD  
For those of you who are wondering how Snape got in there, that will be in the next chapter.  
So, review and tell me what you think, throw in some ideas if you want. I may just use it to help me finish writing up the next chapter. _


	12. Chapter 12

_Wow, it feels like I haven't updated in forever. But school got the best of me. Who else can't wait for winter break? Lol. Anyway, you probably don't want to read this._

_Thanks to __**GoldenRoya**__, the greatest beta everrrrr.  
And thanks to all who read/reviewed/favorited/alerted. You guys are great._

Severus sat on the Slytherin table, poking at his food. He looked over to the Gryffindor table; Remus wasn't there. The other boy had said that he wasn't feeling too well and was going up to his dorm room for rest. Severus had insisted that he go to the infirmary because he looked terribly ill, but the Gryffindor wouldn't do it. Severus noticed that Remus's friends all seemed to be enjoying their dinner. He glared at how carefree they all seemed. How could they just sit there and have a good time when one of their friends was gravely ill?

After about half an hour, Severus pushed away the remainder of his food and made his way out of the Great Hall. As he passed the Gryffindor table, he noticed Sirius Black getting up to leave as well. Severus was grateful that at least one of Remus's friends were going to go see him, but angry that it was Black. Remus used to like him and Severus has seen the way Black looked at his boyfriend. He didn't like it one bit.

Severus was about to turn into the hallway that lead down to the dungeon but stopped when he noticed that Black wasn't heading up to the Gryffindor room, but to the entrance of the school. His curiosity getting the better of him, Severus began to follow Sirius. As he stepped outside, the cold made him pull his robe tighter around him. He stared out into the darkness and saw Black's shadowy form walking away from the castle.

Severus followed him from a distance, careful not to be seen. The Gryffindor would occasionally stop and look up at the sky, as if searching for something, before continuing forward. Severus wondered if he was up to another one of his stupid pranks, then smirked when he realized this was his chance to get the other boy into trouble. He had never figured out how they managed to pull all their pranks without getting caught, and Remus wouldn't tell him. But this time, he was going to catch him in the act.

After what felt like hours walking in the bristling cold, Sirius finally stopped. Severus looked around at where he was and saw nothing special at first. Then he took a closer look at where Black was stopped and he realized that he was standing in front of the Whomping Willow. He moved closer and crouched down behind some bushes and watched to see what the Gryffindor would do. He saw Black pick up a large stick from the ground. He moved closer to the tree, occasionally ducking to avoid its swinging branches. When he was close enough, he thrust the stick out and hit the tree. To Severus's surprise, the tree stopped moving.

Sirius tossed the stick aside and pushed some tall grass near the base of the tree away. Severus could see nothing but darkness but assumed that there was an underground pathway down there. Maybe Black was going to sneak out of the school grounds or something. Severus shifted, getting ready to follow the Gryffindor down the path, but froze when he saw Sirius walking away. The other boy looked down the path, then up at the sky again, before shaking his head and making his way back to the castle.

Once the Gryffindor was out of sight, Severus stood up from his hiding place and made his way to the tree. By now, the branches had started moving again so that he couldn't get close and inspect the passageway. He looked around and saw the stick that Sirius had tossed aside. He bent down to pick it up and tried to remember where on the tree he was supposed to hit it with.

A few minutes, and a couple bruises from the tree later, he finally found the right place on the willow to hit. The branches froze and he quickly dove down into the tunnel before it could start up again. What he didn't notice, however, was that Sirius had come back. Sirius could only stare in horror as Snape disappeared under the tree, before he ran back to the castle to find James and Peter.

The passage was dark, so Severus pulled out his wand for light. The ceiling was low so he had to crouch down a little, but he hurried down the path, eager to see what was on the other side. After walking some distance, stairs led upwards to a door in the ceiling. Pushing the door open, he climbed in. Severus looked around the room. It was an old looking house and everything was covered in dust. It didn't look like anyone had lived in there for years. Severus glanced out the dusty window and thought he could make out the lights of Hogsmeade from the distance. Why did Black want to go in here? It was nothing but an old musty room. Severus was about to leave when a noise that sounded a lot like a cry of pain came from the second floor of the old house.

Gripping his wand tightly in his hand, he made his way up the old creaky steps. It looked a lot worse up here than it did at the first floor. The walls and floor of the hall were filled with deep gashes that looked like they were made from the claws of a monster. Hearing another cry, Severus moved to the door at the end up the hall.

He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself before he opened the door. What he saw in there forced him to stop and freeze in place. On a bed at the end of the room lay Remus. Severus could do nothing as his boyfriend turned to look at him. He saw the other boy's eyes widen before he opened his mouth to say something. All that came out, however, was another cry of pain. That cry tore at his chest and he knew he should have gone to help the other boy, but he couldn't seem to make his feet move. He was frozen in place.

Remus stood up on shaky legs and made to walk towards the Slytherin, but another spasm of pain brought him down to his knees. He raised his head to turn frightened eyes to the window. Severus's eyes followed his gaze and saw the full moon rising. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, Severus finally understood what was going on. Remus kneeling in pain right now, staring at the moon with scared eyes, and being sick last month during the time of the full moon, and all those times he was sick in the past—it all made sense now. Remus was a werewolf. How Severus hadn't been able to figure it out earlier, he didn't know.

But then, another, much scarier, thought occurred to him. Remus was transforming right now. He had to get away. Severus tried to get his legs to move, but they were frozen in place. All he could do was stare as Remus's arched back and a loud guttural cry of pain escaped his throat. Before his eyes, Remus started to change. His face was twisted and contorted in pain, his hands clenched slightly and claws starting to form at the end of his fingers.

Severus was unable to take his eyes off of his boyfriend as he transformed into a monster right in front of him. His wand was still clutched tightly in his hands, but all the spells he'd learned over the years fled his mind. All he could think about was Remus being a werewolf. From behind him, Severus could hear the door opening, but still could not tear his eyes from the almost transformed wolf before him. A hand reached out and grabbed him roughly. Severus could do nothing but let the other hand pull him out the door, before the person rushed inside.

"Run, you idiot!" Severus looked up from where he was sprawled on the floor to the familiar face. The last thing he saw before the door slammed close, was Remus, now completely transformed, lunge at James, who looked grave, but had no wand in sight.

Severus stared at the door in shock. He had no idea what was going in there, but could hear loud thumps and crashes, and howls from the wolf. He could also make out another noise; it sounded like an animal, but wasn't the wolf. But he could hear nothing from James Potter. Finally gaining control of his legs, Severus stood and ran out of the house and down the path leading back to the castle as if death were right behind him.

_Hah, another chapter out of the way. What do you think?_

_Reviews are greatly wanted and appreciated :D_


	13. Chapter 13

When Remus woke up, the first thing he saw was white. He let out a soft sigh. He was in the infirmary again. He tried to sit up but a sharp pain ran through his back. That was when the previous night's events came back to him. Eyes wide in shock, Remus tried to calm his rapid heartbeat. Severus - where was he? What had happened to him? He felt his blood run cold at the thought of what he could have done to the other boy. A sudden feeling of nausea washed over him as all the possibilities of what could have happened ran through his mind.

Just when he felt that he was about to lose all the contents of his stomach, the infirmary door opened and someone walked in. Remus looked up and saw the worried eyes of his best friend, Sirius. Sirius tried to give him a reassuring smile as he took a seat on the chair next to his bed. "How you feeling, Remmy?"

"Severus," Remus croaked out.

"He's alright, Moony." Sirius poured him a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside table and handed the cup to the boy in the bed. A door near the back of the room opened and the healer came out. Used to seeing Sirius here every morning **that Remus was**, she just nodded to the other boy while she checked on her patient. The two boys waited until the healer was gone before speaking again.

"What happened last night?" Remus was the first to break the silence. "The last thing I remember was seeing Severus standing there."

"I went to go check on you after I finished eating last night. I don't know how, but I think Snape followed me." Sirius looked away from his friend. "I made it all the way to the willow and hit the knot on the tree. I was going to go in to check on you, but it was still early and the moon wasn't all the way up, so I left.

"Then I went back because I figured I could wait in the tunnel but when I got there, I saw Snape going into the passage. So I ran back to the castle and got James because when he's Prongs, he's the only one who can keep you in line and I knew I needed help. So James told me to go get Dumbledore and headed towards you guys. By the time I got Dumbledore out of dinner, Snape was already back in the castle. When he saw us, he rushed up to Dumbledore and told him you were a werewolf. It was a good thing no one else was outside at the time. Then Dumbledore took Snape up to his office to talk to him and I ran to the Shack as fast as I could to help James."

Remus stayed silent even after his friend finished his story. Sirius fidgeted in his seat as he waited for the other boy to say something. He brushed his hair out of his face. That was when Remus saw the bandage peeking out from under his sleeve.

"Your arm," Remus said with wide eyes. He didn't know what happened, but he was sure that _he _was the reason for the bandage.

"It's nothing, Moony," Sirius pulled down his sleeve to hide his arm. He knew how much his friend feared that he would hurt someone while he was in his wolf from. "Prongs and I have a few scrapes and bruises here and there, but its nothing too bad."

"Wha - what did I do?"

"Nothing you did…" Sirius looked into the pain-filled amber eyes and sighed. "Things just got a little rough last night, Remmy. You were going crazy and kept trying to get past Prongs to reach Snape and we tried to stop you. You didn't calm down the whole night. I think Prongs and I caused you more damage than you did to us."

"I - how," Remus sighed and struggled to stand up again. Sirius stepped forward and helped him sit up, arranging the pillows behind him. "How is Severus? What did Dumbledore tell him? How is he taking the news?"

"I haven't seen him since Dumbledore took him to his office and talked to him. He wasn't at breakfast and we have no classes with the Slytherins until after lunch; I haven't seen him in the halls or anything. But no one's saying anything, so I don't think he told anyone."

"I should go talk to him." Remus sighed.

"Why don't you wait awhile?" Sirius suggested. "Give him some time to think things over?"

"I guess… But I just… want to talk to him. I have no idea what he thinks and it's going to kill me, not knowing."

"But going now, when he's still unsure of what he feels about the whole thing, will only end up with the two of you saying things you'll probably both regret. You guys have been fighting way too much as it is."

"Thanks, Siri." Remus smiled at his friend and lay back into the pillows behind him. "Why aren't you at lunch?"

"I thought I'd come check on you," Sirius shrugged. "And I wanted to bring you these."

Sirius reached into the pockets of his robes and pulled out something. Remus chuckled softly and accepted one of the wrapped sandwiches that Sirius handed to him.

"I know how much you hate the mush they serve in here." Sirius grinned and pulled out another sandwich for himself.

HPHPHP

Sirius smirked and tried to hold back the laugh that was bubbling in his throat. Remus was practically bouncing where he sat on the hospital bed. The school healer was looking over him, making sure that his injuries were alright. Remus had to stay in the hospital wing another day and it was making him restless. He, James, and Peter were standing nearby, waiting for the healer to say it was okay for Remus to go before they went down to breakfast together.

"Alright, Remus," the healer said after she finally put her wand away. "Most of your injuries are healed except for a couple of large gashes on your back and chest. Just take it easy for a while, and come see me after your classes tomorrow so I can check on them."

"Yes, ma'am, thank you!" Remus called over his shoulder as he dashed out the door with his three friends in tow.

HPHPHP

"Cheer up, mate," James said to a distraught looking Remus. "I'm sure Snape will come around soon enough."

"It's been four days, James!" Remus responded. "He hasn't said a word to me. He doesn't even talk to me in class anymore. What if he hates me now?"

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Peter tried to reassure his friend.

"I nearly killed him! If I were him, I'd hate me."

"If the guy hates you, he would of said something by now," Sirius stated calmly from where he lay on his bed. "He would have broken up with you or something like that."

"Sirius!" James noticed the flash of hurt that showed up on Remus's face when Sirius said 'break up'. "Don't listen to him, Moony. I'm sure Snape just needs some time to think things over."

"But its been four days," Remus repeated sadly.

"Well, he _is_ a Slytherin. Everyone knows those blokes are a little slow," James joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Maybe I should go talk to him."

"Just wait, Moony," Peter looked up from the magazine he was flipping through. "He obviously isn't ready to talk to you. Give it some time."

"I guess."

HPHPHP

A few more days went by and now it had been an entire week since Remus came out of the Infirmary - and there was still no word from Severus. The Slytherin had been ignoring the other boy. He had even stopped going to their regular study sessions with Lily. And in classes, he opted to sit with his Slytherin classmates instead of in the front with Remus and Lily. To say Remus was upset would be an understatement.

The Marauders had tried all they could to help their friend feel better, but nothing they said seemed to work. James and Sirius were already planning on ambushing the Slytherin to find out why he wouldn't talk to their friend. With a sigh of frustration at the stupidity of boys, Lily Evans decided that it was her turn to try to get to the bottom of things.

"Severus."

The dark haired boy looked up from the book he was reading at the red head in front of him. He saw a determined look in her eyes and almost instantly knew what it meant. Lily had yet to talk to him about what happened with Remus and he knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. After marking his place in the book, he motioned for Lily to sit down beside him. They were at a table at the very back of the library. Not very many people went into this particular corner because it was darker and had a gloomier feel to it than the rest of the room.

"How may I help you, Lily?" Severus asked, even though he knew what she wanted.

"I want to talk to you about Remus."

"What about Remus?"

"You know what!" Lily snapped. A few people from a couple tables away stared at her in confusion. She blushed slightly and lowered her voice, though the harshness was still there. "You haven't spoken to him since he got out of the hospital last week. You won't even look at him!"

"I don't want to talk about it right now, Lily."

"Well, when _do_ you want to talk about it? Remus is a wreck and you don't seem all too happy yourself. So why not just stop acting like a stupid _boy _and talk to him already?"

"It's not that easy," Severus sighed.

"Why not? It looks plenty easy to me."

"You don't understand everything Lily. You don't know the circumstances that led to this."

"Then help me understand," Lily pleaded.

"I can't." Severus looked away from her pleading eyes because he knew that if he looked, he'd give in to the request of his oldest friend.

"Why not?" Lily reached out and placed one of her hands over his. "You always tell me everything, Sev."

"I can't tell you this time, Lil." He looked down at their hands on the table. "You're my best friend and everything Lily, but I've been sworn to secrecy."

"What? It's not those horrible guys, is it? What are their names? Goyle and Flint? They're not the kind of people you should be hanging out with!"

"It's not them. It's about Remus." Severus spoke in a voice that was almost a whisper. He wanted so badly to tell someone about what had happened to him, but he couldn't because he'd sworn to Dumbledore that he wouldn't.

"Sworn to secrecy about Remus?" Lily repeated, her mind starting to piece things together. Severus hadn't talked to Remus since before he went into the hospital wing. Remus went in there because of the full moon. Her eyes widened in shock. "You know about Remus?"

"You know?" Severus stared at his friend in shock, a feeling of betrayal starting to build up inside him. It seems like everyone knew about Remus's condition except for him. "So he told you and those 'Marauder' friends of his, but not his own boyfriend?"

Lily heard the bitterness in her friend's voice and hurried and tried to calm the other boy. "He never told me. I found out on my own a couple of years ago. And the guys managed to figure it out for themselves even before I did."

Severus stopped and pondered that information. He felt slightly better knowing that Remus didn't deliberately keep it from him while telling everyone else, but only slightly.

"What happened?" Lily asked in a hesitant voice.

"I wanted to know what was going on. I knew he was keeping something from me and I just had to know," Severus admitted, quietly. Seeing as Lily already knew about the Gryffindor's condition, he didn't feel bad for telling her. "When I was leaving dinner, I saw Black heading outside. I decided to follow him because I thought he was up to no good again and it was about time he got caught. He went to that tree, the Whomping Willow. Apparently there's a secret passage underneath it that leads to that abandoned shack in Hogsmeade -the one everyone is starting to say is haunted."

"So that's where he goes," Lily commented quietly to herself. She saw Severus watching her and nodded for him to continue.

"So after he left, I went into the passage," Severus continued. "I went to the shack and I heard noises coming from upstairs. So I went up. I opened the door to one of the rooms and saw Remus - he was about to transform."

"Oh my gosh," Lily covered her mouth with her hands. "I - what happened?"

"I was too shocked to do anything. He was about to attack me when Potter went in and pushed me out of the room." Severus looked at Lily and waited for some kind of response, but it seemed that the red head was too shocked to say anything. "Now you see why I don't want to talk to him right now."

"But, you'll talk to him eventually, right?"

"Of course."

After they exchanged a few more words, Lily left Severus. He stayed in the library until he finished the book he was reading. By the time he finished, dinner had already started and he and a couple of other students were the only ones in the library.

As he made his way out into the hall, someone moved and stood in front of him. Severus looked up and his heart missed a beat.

"Severus," Remus said in a soft timid voice. "I - I know you don't want to see me. But, can we talk? Please?"

Severus looked into the Gryffindor's pleading eyes and found himself unable to say no. Looking at Remus, he could still see the monster that nearly killed him the night of the full moon. But at the same time, he could see the boy he fell in love with.

"Alright."

_Another chapter out of the way :D Took me forever to get it out. BUT, its longer than usual, so you should be happy. Hehe. _

_I'm off to see HP7 tomorrow :D I've been itching to watch it since it came out, but never had the time. Now I can't wait :D _

_Anyway, happy thanksgiving to all, hope you enjoyed, review, it makes me feel good about myself :D please? Haha._


	14. Chapter 14

The two boys walked until they reached the lake. Throughout the entire walk, neither of them spoke. The tension between them was so thick it was almost tangible. Remus stood by the edge of the lake and looked out onto the rippling water. He had so many things he wanted to say—he had actually envisioned having this conversation and had different speeches planned out. But, now that he was here, he just couldn't find the right words.

Severus was at the ground (not sure what you mean by this…). He knew that this conversation was bound to happen sooner or later, but he had no idea what to say or think. He had so many thoughts running through his head and so many conflicting emotions about Remus and his condition. It was all giving him a rather large headache.

"Severus," Remus was finally the one to break the silence. His voice sounded soft and unsure. "I—I'm sorry."

Something snapped in the dark haired Slytherin. "Sorry? I could have died and all you have to say to me is 'sorry'?" Severus had no idea where that anger came from. He knew he was angry at Remus for a few things—for not telling him about his condition, for keeping something this important from him, and for nearly killing him—but he didn't realize just how angry he was until the words spilled out. "How long have you been that...that monster?"

The word stung. Remus hung his head in shame. "Since before I came to Hogwarts, first year."

A part of Severus tried to reach out when he heard the sad, almost helpless, tone in the other boy's voice, but his anger got the better of him. "And they let you go to this school? What the hell was Dumbledore thinking, letting you in here?"

Tears started to form in Remus's eyes but he kept them from falling. "Severus…I—"

"Potter knows." It was a statement, not a question. He didn't know why he was dredging this up, since Lily had already confirmed it. But he had to hear the truth from Remus. "And if he knows, Black and that Pettigrew know, too."

Remus said nothing and Severus' lip curled.

"You told those imbeciles and you didn't bother to tell me? I'm your boyfriend! And Lily! She knows, too!"

"I didn't tell them. They figured it out for themselves," Remus retorted, defending his friends. "They figured it out back in second year."

"When did you plan on telling me about your…condition?" Severus asked after taking a few calming breaths.

Remus looked up, mouth opened, ready to answer, before he realized that he had no answer. He had no idea when he'd planned on telling the other boy anything. He'd never even considered the thought.

Anger once again flashed in Severus' dark eyes as he took in the meaning of that hesitation. "You weren't even going to tell me? Did you plan on keeping something as serious as this from me forever?"

"Sev, please, just let me explain."

"What is there to explain? You were going to keep it from me, your boyfriend, forever, while those stupid idiots you call friends have known for years."

Remus clenched his fists tightly in anger. He was getting tired of Severus insulting his friends. "Are you even still my boyfriend? You've been ignoring me since I got out of the hospital wing! And stop insulting my friends! At least they didn't act this way when they found out. They accepted me!"

"Because accepting a monster is just the stupid Gryffindor thing that they'd do," Severus muttered bitterly. But Remus caught every word.

"So I'm a monster now, am I?" His eyes were shining brightly with tears, but they were no longer hurt tears; they were tears of anger.

"It was bad enough that you're a stupid Gryffindor half-blood. But now I find out you're not even human?" Severus spat out, coldly.

Remus felt like he'd just been hit by the Hogwarts Express. Never once had he heard such malice come from the other boy; and never once had he seen so much disgust in the eyes that once looked at him with love.

Severus sneered at Remus, who was frozen in shock. "I've had enough of this."

Remus watched him turn on his heel and leave. He wanted to call out to him, call him back so they could talk this out some more, or say some comeback to what he said, but all that came out of his mouth was a choked sob.

Sirius walked out of the Great Hall in search for Remus. He had yet to see the other boy and he was getting worried. He heard footsteps approaching and turned to the direction of the sound. He raised an eyebrow as he saw a very irate-looking Snape approaching. A cold glare appeared on his face upon seeing the Gryffindor, but he said nothing and walked past him into the Great Hall.

A feeling of dread washed over Sirius. He had no idea where the notion came from, but he had a feeling that Snape and Remus had finally talked. Without another thought, he ran out onto the grounds and began to look for the boy he was in love with.

_Hey guys, it's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I had a busy break. I went to Philippines, then Singapore, then back to Philippines, then there was a death in the family and now school's started up again. So I apologize for the lack of updates and the shortness of this chapter. I'll make it up to you by making the next one longer. Sorry if it's a little off, the huge gaps between chapters kind of threw me off. _


	15. Chapter 15

_This is un-beta'd. As soon as I get the beta'd chapter I'll replace this. But, I just thought you'd all want to see the next chapter. How long has it been since I last updated this anyway?_

_-.-.-_

Sirius exited the castle and headed straight for the lake. If he knew Remus as well as he thought he did, then he'd be at the lake. He always went there to think whenever he was upset. What he saw when he got there nearly broke his heart: Remus was sitting beside the lake, his legs pulled up to his chest and his arms wound tightly around him. He was also shaking. Sirius was still a good distance away but he didn't have to be near him to know that he was crying.

"Remus," he said softly as he knelt down beside the smaller boy.

"He thinks I'm a monster," Remus didn't lift his head from where it was atop his knees, but Sirius heard him clearly. He felt anger boil up inside him and decided that he'll personally deal with Snape later. Remus needed him right now.

"You're not, he's just being an idiot," Sirius tentatively wrapped his arms around the other boy. Remus lifted his head from his knees and buried it in Sirius's chest. His arms wrapped around the older boy's neck as the sobs shook his body some more.

Sirius bit his lip to stop himself from saying anything insulting about the Slytherin who left Remus in this state; now wasn't the time. He rubbed comforting circles on Remus's back and whispered words of reassurance in his ear.

After a few minutes, Remus finally pulled away and wiped at his face. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry, Remmy," Sirius gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "That bastard had no right to call you a monster. If anyone is going to be sorry, it should be him."

-.-.-.-

Once Remus was ready to go back inside, Sirius led him to their dorm room. While the smaller boy went to take a relaxing shower, Sirius told him he was going down to the kitchens to get him something to eat. After he heard the sound of the shower running, he went to James's trunk and searched for the map. He quickly scanned it and left the room as soon as he found the name he was looking for.

He left the dorm room and hurried down through the halls of the castle, occasionally glancing at the map to make sure his intended target didn't change directions. Using the secret passages, Sirius made it to the dungeons a few minutes earlier than he needed to be. Once he heard the echo of footsteps, Sirius pocketed the map and stepped into the middle of the hall.

"What are you doing here?" Snape sneered when he saw Sirius standing in the middle of the hall.

"I came to talk to you," Sirius responded with a cold glare pointed at the Slytherin.

"Well, I have nothing to talk to you about," Snape stalked forward, but before he could get past Sirius, the Gryffindor stopped him.

"Then I'll talk and you listen," Sirius snarled, gripping Snape's arm tightly. "Who the hell do you think you are talking to Remus like that?"

"What the hell are you going on about?" Snape yanked his arm free from Sirius's hold.

"You called him a monster." Sirius hissed as he made sure that Snape couldn't get away from him.

"That's what he is," the Slytherin's voice was cold as ice.

"Don't say that! How can you say that after claiming you love him?"

"I couldn't never love a monster," Snape spat out. He felt a twinge of guilt at his words, but pushed those thoughts away. He didn't love Remus anymore; after what he did, how could he?

"Stop calling him that!" Sirius shouted, advancing on the other boy, cornering him against the wall.

"Or what?" Snape shot back. "You're going to send your pet after me so he can try and kill me again?"

"Remus isn't an animal!" Sirius was having a hard time keeping his anger in check. "So stop fucking talking about him like he's one!"

"Hah!" Snape scoffed. "He's nothing but a monster and you know it. He isn't human. I don't care what he poses to be the rest of the month, but his true form is the hideous beast that comes out at every full moon. He shouldn't even be here! He should be taken to the Ministry to be killed!"

"Shut up!" Sirius fist shot out and connected with Snape's jaw before he could think about it. The Slytherin fell to the ground. He knew he was egging Sirius on, but he hadn't been expecting a physical attack. He thought the other boy was going to pull out his wand and hex him. Snape reached into his pocket to get to his wand, but Sirius was over him in a second and he had to bring his hands up to protect his face from Sirius's fists.

Severus kicked blindly, trying to throw Sirius off of him. His foot connected with flesh and allowed himself a satisfied smirk at the gasp of pain that escaped from Sirius's lips. He pushed the other boy off of him then brought his fist back to take a punch. Sirius managed to move his head out of the way so that the Slytherin's fist only scraped his cheek a little.

"What's going on here?" A loud voice boomed before a light sped towards the two fighting boys and instantly separated them.

"Severus? Explain yourself!" Slughorn looked at one of his best students in shock, he was not expecting this from him. Severus kept his mouth shut but glared at Sirius.

"Black? What do you have to say for yourself?" Slughorn turned to the Gryffindor when he realized that Severus wasn't going to say anything. "Well, speak up!"

"Snivellus is a good for nothing bastard," Sirius snarled.

"Black! Twenty points from Gryffindor for that kind of language. And another fifty for hitting another student! The same for you, Severus. I'm shocked. This isn't like you!"

"He started it!" Snape pointed an accusatory finger in Sirius's direction. The Gryffindor only glared harder at him.

"I don't care who started it!" Slughorn bellowed. "It ends now! We're going to the headmaster's office."

Slughorn beckoned for the boys to walk forward and marched them up to Dumbledore's office.

"What's this, Horace?" Dumbledore asked when he saw the irate looking professor and the two mussed up boys. Sirius's cheek was slightly red and Severus already had a bruise forming where Sirius had hit him.

"I walked in on these two fighting in the hall," Slughorn replied.

Dumbledore looked at the two boys and seemed to know what the two boys had been fighting about. He asked Slughorn to leave and waited a few minutes after he was gone before he turned to the two boys seated in front of him.

"So what do you have to say for yourselves?" Albus asked calmly. He held out a jar of lemon drops to the boys but neither made a move to take one.

"He called Remus a monster!" Sirius all but shouted.

"Whatever I said is between me and Lupin," Snape responded, his eyes narrowing at Sirius. "Black had no right to just come and attack me like that!"

"He's right," Albus spoke up before Sirius could say anything. Snape smirked triumphantly in Sirius's direction. "But, I will not tolerate you calling any of your fellow peers such names Mr. Snape."

"Now, I know that you are going through a tough time coming to terms with all of this," Sirius scoffed but Dumbledore ignored him, "So I will let it slide for now. But, I will hear nothing more of it, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." Snape had the decency to look down in shame.

"As for you, Mr. Black," Dumbledore turned to the other boy who was seething in his seat. "While I commend you for coming to the defense of your friend, physical violence is not the answer."

After talking to the two boys a little longer, he let them go. Sirius made sure to ignore Snape as he stomped up to Gryffindor tower. He saw James and Peter in the common room but walked past them without a word as he made his way up the stairs.

The bathroom door was open. Sirius turned to Remus's bed and spotted the boy already asleep. He walked up to him slowly and frowned when he noticed the tear tracks on the boy's face. He had cried himself to sleep. Sirius brushed the brown hair out of his eyes and wiped at the tear stains on his cheek. He smiled sadly and pulled the covers up to the werewolf's chin.

"I'll make sure you never cry yourself to sleep again, Remmy," Sirius whispered. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on the boy's forehead. "I love you."

-.-.-

Well, there you go. FFnet has been giving me some trouble lately with the page breaks, so please let me know if they're messed up in this chapter, too.

I'm sorry for the delay and the choppiness of all of this. I'm having some serious writer's block for this.


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